A moderately center-left Democratic lawmaker from New York who’s made a name for himself in Washington for speaking his mind once praised Bernie Sanders.
Rep. Max Rose, 33, may have thrown his freshman political weight behind 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg in January, but before he gave the former New York City mayor his first congressional endorsement, he had rosy words for the Vermont senator.
“Bernie Sanders did some great things for us throughout that race — did some fantastic things that I think [he] should be applauded for,” Rose started regarding the 2016 Democratic primary.
He referenced the undue influence of so-called superdelegates in the process before he was interrupted by YouTube personality Marcus Conte in the unearthed video from 2018, prior to Rose being elected to Congress.
“Bringing things to light, the ways in which the Democratic Party has failed voters in the past, has lied to voters, has said one thing in one room and another thing in another. He certainly shined a light on that, there’s absolutely no doubt about that, but now, we have to unite. We have to unite because look at what we’re facing on Capitol Hill,” he said.
A Rose spokesman pushed back on the assumption the congressman was “endorsing Bernie’s policies or candidacy in this video.”
“Max believed then, and continues to believe, that Bernie’s socialist policies are wrong for America. He was only highlighting the issues with the 2016 primary process that Bernie brought to light that needed to be addressed — probably one of the few things Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Max Rose all agreed on,” the aide told the Washington Examiner.
Rose hasn’t been afraid to clash with House Democratic leadership during his first term. For example, he was reticent to support the impeachment investigation into President Trump and opposed a nonbinding resolution to curb the White House incumbent’s authority to use military force against Iran.
He’s also been vocal about the ascendancy of the far-Left for the good of the country and his party’s electoral prospects, particularly dueling with fellow New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“This is not the time for milquetoast incrementalism,” Rose said last year. “It just isn’t. But with that being said, nothing about what I just said would provide a justification for a massive socialist economic policy platform. Just not needed.”
He added, “If she wants to primary me, if the Justice Democrats want to primary me, I’ll lay out the red carpet. We can settle this at the polls.”
