Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sat down with James Hohmann of the Washington Post for a wide-ranging discussion over various issues Wednesday morning, offering talking points of the liberal Left and distinguishing himself from ideological allies and adversaries.
At a time of deep factionalism within the Democratic Party, Sanders said he thought it was “absolutely” a bad decision for DNC chair Tom Perez to endorse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his bid for reelection.
[Related: DNC chair Tom Perez peeves fellow Democrats with Andrew Cuomo endorsement]
When asked whether he thought this would make it harder for people to trust progressive candidates and whether they will get fair treatment from the party in 2020, Sanders replied, “Yep, it does. … When you have the head of the DNC, and I’ve worked OK with Perez on some areas, and I’ll mention that in a moment. But to endorse one candidate over another is not what the chair of the DNC should be doing.”
Distrust between the DNC and liberal candidates remains intact since the 2016 presidential primaries, when many within the party speculated that the establishment rigged the contest to help support Hillary Clinton, a left-of-center candidate, over Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist.
Sanders distanced himself from the Democratic Party banner, instead pledging to push the far-left “revolution” as an independent, unlike actress Cynthia Nixon who explicitly made her campaign to unseat Cuomo as a challenge from the far-left within the party.
Sanders also mentioned his support for Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., who is deputy chair of the DNC, in his bid for attorney general of Minnesota.
