Bernie Sanders jokes at Dem debate: 'I'm not that much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower'

Bernie Sanders speaks at the second Democratic debate.

(Image credit: Twitter/Politico)

last updated 15 November 2015

President Dwight Eisenhower is quite en vogue this election season — on both sides of the aisle. "A good president, a great president," Donald Trump raved earlier this week at the Republican debate, going on to praise Eisenhower's deportation program, Operation Wetback.

Then, during Saturday night's Democratic debate, Bernie Sanders name-dropped the former president too, joking that in regard to his tax reforms, "I'm not that much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower."

Eisenhower, who was president between 1953 and 1961, had a 92 percent marginal income tax rate for top earning Americans. Today, the top marginal tax rate is 39.6 percent.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.