Bernie Sanders thinks the pope is a socialist

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says he and Pope Francis have one big thing in common: They're both socialists. In an interview with Canadian Catholic network Salt and Light that was recorded in September and will air Tuesday, the Democratic presidential candidate explains why exactly he thinks the pope is a socialist — whether he knows it or not.

"Well, what it means to be a socialist, in the sense of what the pope is talking about, what I'm talking about, is to say that we have got to do our best and live our lives in a way that alleviates human suffering, that does not accelerate the disparities of income and wealth," Sanders tells Rev. Thomas Rosica, who works with the Vatican's press office, in the interview. "When he talks about wealth being used to serve people, not as an end in itself, I agree with that."

Moreover, Sanders notes, the pope is not a believer in trickle-down economic theory, nor does he think that "if we give more tax breaks to the rich, we deregulate Wall Street, we deregulate industry, that somehow all of the benefits of that deregulation will filter on down to ordinary people."

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Sanders made history earlier this month in New Hampshire when he became the first non-Christian ever to win a presidential primary. Watch his full interview below via The Washington Post. Becca Stanek