Bernie Sanders cautioned authoritarianism 'may be on the march' shortly after inauguration, book reveals
In the early days of President Biden's tenure, not too long after the Jan. 6 Captiol riot, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) attended a meeting in the Oval Office alongside a group of leading Senate Democrats — one in which he almost "immediately raised the stakes," Jewish Insider writes per Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's upcoming book Peril.
"If we cannot deliver, authoritarianism may be on the march," Sanders told Biden, according to an account of the meeting detailed in Peril. The Vermont senator then argued the party badly needed to pass a major rescue bill and show working-class voters, lured away from the party, that Democrats could change their lives for the better.
"The future of democracy depends on which party is the party of the working class," said Sanders, as paraphrased by Woodward and Costas.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After the meeting, Sanders reportedly turned to his colleagues, invoking the Holocaust and Germany in the 1930s, per Jewish Insider. "Germany was one of the most cultured countries in Europe. One of the most advanced countries. So how could a country of Beethoven, of so many great poets and writers, and Einstein, progress to [barbarism]?"
"How does that happen?" he reportedly wondered. "We have to tackle that question. And it's not easy." Read more at Jewish Insider.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
5 ballsy cartoons about the new White House ballroomCartoons Artists take on the White House Disneyland, a menu for the elites, and more
-
‘Congratulations on your house, but maybe try a greyhound instead’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How climate change poses a national security threatThe explainer A global problem causing more global problems
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
