Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday that he believes he can win over supporters of Republican front-runner Donald Trump, explaining that Trump has been successful at channeling working-class anger.
In a interview on CBS’ Face the Nation that aired on Sunday, Sanders said that many of Trump’s supporters are “working-class people” who have “legitimate” anger because of job losses, decreasing wages and rising college costs.
"Many of Trump's supporters are working-class people and they're angry, and they're angry because they're working longer hours for lower wages, they're angry because their jobs have left this country and gone to China or other low-wage countries, they're angry because they can't afford to send their kids to college so they can't retire with dignity," said Sanders, according to CBS.
Sanders said he could make a more productive use of that anger by redirecting it away from minorities and toward targets where wealth is concentrated.
“What Trump has done with some success is taken that anger, taken those fears, which are legitimate, and converted them into anger against Mexicans, anger against Muslims," said Sanders, Politico reported.
Sanders also noted that there is a disconnect between how little Trump is willing to do for his working class supporters -- such as not wanting to raise the minimum wage -- and the tax breaks he proposes for the wealthiest people in the country.
"I think for his working class and middle class supporters, I think we can make the case that if we really want to address the issues that people are concerned about...we need policies that bring us together that take on the greed of Wall Street, the greed of corporate America, and create a middle class that works for all of us rather than an economy that works just for a few," he said.
Sanders said in a CNN interview earlier this week that "Trump is very smart" for knowing how to play the media and "bombastic" and "silly" remarks because they will get broader coverage.
