Bernie Sanders tells Stephen Colbert what Trump did right, and why his success isn't so huge

Bernie Sanders talks to Stephen Colbert about the election — (Image credit: Late Show)

Stephen Colbert had Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday's Late Show, and he began by saying that the former Democratic presidential candidate was the person he most wanted to talk to after the election. "It's been a tough week," Sanders said. Colbert said that during the primaries, people would tell him that Bernie supporters and Donald Trump supporters were basically the same. "What do you think is the common thread, because while it's easy to condemn, it is harder to convince or to understand," Colbert said. "Do you think there is some overlap in the anger of your two crowds?"

Sanders said yes, that "above and beyond the terrible bigotry of the Trump campaign," Trump "tapped into a lot of pain and anxiety and angst the American people are feeling, which is very rarely reported in the media or understood by the punditry." He pointed to a couple things: lots of people in America today won't live as long as their parents; a large number of 60-year-olds have no retirement savings; single moms can easily spend almost half their income on child care; and many college graduates earn minimum wage while trying to pay off massive student loans. "That is the reality of America we do not talk about," Sanders said, and both he and Trump talked about it. "By the end of the campaign, Trump was posing as a 'hero of the working class of America,'" he added. "Now, I happen not to believe him. I hope I'm wrong."

"People are marching in the streets. Are you in favor of that?" Colbert asked. "Yeah, I mean I think people are expressing their feelings, they're exercising their constitutional rights," Sanders said. "What about the 'Not my president?'" Colbert asked. "What we have to figure out is, Where do we go from here? This is the reality," Sanders said. At the same time, "let's be clear about this election. Hillary Clinton ended up with 2 million more votes than Donald Trump. So... don't see this as a massive success for Trump — he lost the popular vote. Second of all, he comes into the White House as the least-popular candidate in the history of this country." Lots of people who voted for him don't agree with him on women, African-Americans and climate change, Sanders said, and the goal now is to "figure out how to create an effective opposition." Watch below. Peter Weber

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.