Senator Bernie Sanders had to employ some “fancy footwork” while a guest on Sunday’s edition of the Cable News Network program State of the Union when host Jake Tapper asked the Vermont socialist whether Senator Bob Menendez should step down if the New Jersey Democrat is found guilty in his trial on charges of corruption.
Instead of giving a straightforward response of “Yes” or “No,” Sanders stated: “I think, in this country, people are entitled to due process” and dodged “speculating” what Menendez would decide to do since “it’s a little bit premature” to guess since the jury has not yet made its decision.
Tapper began his question by pointing to “a new poll from Suffolk University and USA Today” which found that “84 percent of the people in New Jersey would want Menendez to resign” if he’s found guilty.
The survey also indicated that only 10 percent of the people questioned believed he should not resign, and six percent were undecided on the matter.
“Where do you come down on this?” the CNN host then asked. “If Senator Menendez is convicted, should he resign immediately?”
Sanders responded:
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. That will be Menendez’s decision. He has not been convicted. Let the process take its course.
In America, that's what it's about. You have a trial, and people -- the jury makes its decision. They have not made their decision, so I think it's a little bit premature to be talking about that.
However, Tapper started the interview with a “softball" question for the Vermont senator: “What did you make of President Trump tweeting that Puerto Ricans -- quote -- ‘want everything to be done for them?’"
“You know,” Sanders replied, “speaking from his fancy golf club, playing golf with his billionaire friends, attacking the mayor of San Juan who is struggling to bring electricity to the island, food to the island, water to the island, gas to the island, that is just -- it is unspeakable, and I don’t know what world Trump is living in.”
Tapper offered another softball: “Now the White House denies it, but there are a lot of critics who say that race or ethnicity might be playing a factor here. What do you think?”
“Look, given the president’s history on race,” the socialist senator responded, “given the fact that he a few months ago told us that there were ‘good people’ on both sides when neo-Nazis were marching in Charlottesville, yeah, I think we have a right to be suspect that he is treating the people of Puerto Rico in a different way than he has treated the people of Texas or Florida.”
Another topic Tapper discussed was the action taken by some players in the National Football League who have been kneeling instead of standing when the National Anthem is played before each game. He quoted a tweet from Donald Trump in which the Republican president stated: “Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our flag and our country.”
Tapper then quoted from a new CNN poll in which “by a 49 percent to 43 percent margin, voters do think that NFL players are doing the wrong thing” with this behavior.
Turning to Sanders, the anchor noted: “You’ve urged the Democratic Party to go beyond identity politics. On this NFL issue, do you worry the Democratic leaders might be falling into some sort of a trap set by the president?”
The senator responded:
Let’s not worry about the politics of what’s going on. Let’s talk about why players are doing what they’re doing, and that is that we have a real crisis in criminal justice in this country.
We have communities now where kids are being picked up for smoking marijuana, getting police records which makes it difficult for them to get the jobs that they need.
“So I think what the players are talking about is the need for criminal justice reform, the need for police department reform. They have the right to make that point, and I appreciate them standing up for what they believe,” Sanders added.
Of course, the senator didn’t comprehend the irony of applauding the athletes “standing up” for their beliefs by kneeling on the ground. And we can only wonder what his response will be after the jury in the Menendez case concludes its deliberations on the corruption charges the New Jersey senator faces.
