Sanders: Graham’s criticism of Soviet Union trip ‘silly’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is mischaracterizing a trip he made to the former Soviet Union.

“I think that’s a little silly [and] absurd,” he said on “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts.”

{mosads}“[It is] totally nonsense,” the contender for the Democratic presidential nomination added of Graham’s jokes.

Graham on Wednesday mocked Sanders for visiting the Soviet Union during his raucous showing in the GOP’s third undercard presidential debate.

“I’m tired of losing. Good God, look who we’re running against,” he said of his party’s battles with the Democrats.

“The No. 2 guy [Sanders] went to the Soviet Union on his honeymoon and I don’t think he ever came back,” Graham quipped.

Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, rejected Graham’s version of his travels.

“Do you think that Sen. Graham is trying to imply that you are some type of communist sympathizer?” Roberts asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly what he’s trying to do,” Sanders replied.

“The fact is that I went to establish a sister city program with Yaroslavl, then in the Soviet Union, now an important city in Russia, which is still in existence today,” he said.

“Did it take place after my marriage?” the senator asked. “It did.”

“I believe that cities should establish relationships with cities and other countries around the world, often countries that we have disagreements with,” he added. “That program is existing today, where kids from Yaroslavl are coming to Burlington, Vt., [and] our people are going there. It is a fine relationship, and I’m proud that as mayor I helped establish that.”

Sanders also took issue with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for attacking his tax plan during the GOP’s main stage debate.

“[It is] equally absurd that Chris Christie talks about me trying to raise taxes on 90 percent of the American people,” he said.

“What we are trying to do is demand that the wealthiest people and the largest corporations in this country, who have seen huge increases in their profits and their individual wealth, start paying their fair share of taxes.”