Democratic presidential hopeful Julian Castro suggested Sunday fellow primary contender, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was hypocritical for his comments on reparations.
Castro, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, said the senator from Vermont supports writing “big checks” for a number of issues, but found it unusual that Sanders hasn’t spoken in support of compensating the descendants of slaves.
“It’s interesting to me that when it comes to ‘Medicare for All,’ healthcare, you know, the response there has been we need to write a big check,” Castro said. “ … So, if the issue is compensating the descendants of slaves, I don’t think the argument about writing a big check ought to be the argument that you make if you’re making an argument that a big check needs to be written for a whole bunch of other stuff.”
Castro’s support for reparations contrasts with Sanders, who said on “The View” in early March that he doubted the efficacy of giving money to African-American descendants of slavery. “Our job is to address the crisis facing the American people and our communities, and I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check,” Sanders said.
Despite his skepticism for monetary reparations, the senator said during a CNN town hall there are “massive disparities” that must be addressed. Sanders said he wants to target the issue on a more structural basis, advocating for legislation that would direct federal funds toward communities with high levels of poverty in order to end “institutional racism” in the U.S.
Castro affirmed in the interview Sunday that he supports some form of reparations and explained that if elected he would set up a task force to explore options on how to proceed.
“I’ve long believed that this country should address slavery, the original sin of slavery, including by looking at reparations. And if I’m president, then I’m going to appoint a commissioner task force to determine the best way to do that,” Castro said.
The topic of reparations has become an issue discussed among Democrats vying to unseat President Trump in the 2020 election. Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have both said they support some form of program to make amends to black Americans for slavery.
Presidential candidates aren’t the only ones weighing in. New York Times columnist David Brooks, who considers himself a moderate Republican, said Thursday in a column that he has changed his mind on the matter and now supports reparations.
