Sanders on Harris’s politics: ‘Her views are not mine, but I do consider her progressive’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday he still considers Vice President Harris “progressive” despite her recent policy shift to the center on some issues.

“I do,” Sanders said on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” when asked whether he still considers Harris progressive.

He noted “she is not where I am” on several issues, but the progressive leader touted Harris’s support for a permanent child tax credit, for creating more affordable housing units and for making it easier for people to join unions.

“So yes, her views are not mine, but I do consider her progressive,” Sanders said.

Harris has faced questions about the reversals in her policy positions on issues, including “Medicare for All” and banning fracking — both of which she no longer supports.

Sanders, however, defended Harris’s shifts and said they still share the same goals of moving toward universal health care and addressing climate change, even if they disagree about how to achieve them.

“No, I don’t think she’s abandoning her ideals,” he said. “I think she’s trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election.

“My own view is slightly different. I think that in America today, there are a lot of people, rural people, working-class people, who no longer believe that the United States, Congress and government, represents their interests,” he said.

Sanders said “personally” he thinks there’s “something wrong” when the United States is the only major country without guaranteed health care for its citizens, despite paying double what other countries pay per capita.

“That is why I support Medicare for all. She does not. She has another approach toward moving toward universal health care,” he added.

Harris unveiled new economic proposals this week, including an increase in the capital gains tax to 28 percent for those making more than $1 million a year. The proposal is a break from President Biden’s proposal of a nearly 40 percent tax on capital gains for the highest earners.

“I would go higher than that,” Sanders said about her proposal, while still praising Harris for working toward the goal of addressing economic inequality.