Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. John Delaney said Thursday that he is not a socialist.
“I don’t embrace socialism,” the former Maryland Democratic representative said in an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “I think the genius of America, in many ways, is that we have embraced capitalism and all of its power to innovate and create jobs.”
Delaney made his comments after being asked about some of his rivals in the Democratic primary who either embrace socialism or support socialist ideas, including Sens. Kamala Harris, Calif., Cory Booker, N.J., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
“We don’t have to throw our model out the window. We just have to — in many ways — recommit to our model, which is letting capitalism innovate — it’s the greatest innovation machine ever. But also making sure that our citizens are prepared for the disruptive effect of capitalism,” Delaney continued.
Delaney said that he still feels there need to be social programs and safety nets in place to make sure capitalism is best serving the interests of U.S. citizens.
Sanders refers to himself as a democratic socialist and garnered strong support, especially from younger, college-aged individuals, during the 2016 Democratic primaries, which he lost to Hillary Clinton.
