Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders isn’t surprised by the results of the 2024 presidential election.
In a statement after the race was called for President-elect Donald Trump, the longtime progressive lawmaker issued a scathing rebuke of the Democratic party, saying it has abandoned “working-class” voters.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders wrote in a statement. “While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”
It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 6, 2024
While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change.
And they’re right. pic.twitter.com/lM2gSJmQFL
“Will the big money interest and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from his disastrous campaign?” Sanders added later in the statement. “Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.”
Sanders went on to call for those who are passionate about “grassroots democracy” and “economic justice” to have “serious political discussions” in the coming weeks and months following the election.
On Tuesday, Trump swept multiple battleground states that Biden won in 2020 as supporters, especially young men, turned out in large numbers. The shift echoes Bernie Sanders’ strong appeal to this demographic in 2016, despite Sanders’ more progressive platform.
Sanders has long championed policies aimed at supporting the working class, from advocating for a $15 minimum wage to pushing for universal healthcare, making him a natural ally for voters frustrated with economic inequality. While he ultimately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in July, Sanders had initially withheld his support, seeking commitments from Harris on progressive issues important to the working class first.