Bernie Sanders: Trump Diagnosed the Problem on Trade. But His Solution Doesn't Work.

[Donkees]

In an interview with The Daily Beast, the senator offered some thoughts on the new tariffs and, more generally, what Democrats need to do to win in the age of Trump.

GIDEON RESNICK
03.08.18 5:16 AM ET

Excerpts:

“In my view though, what you need is a comprehensive, a more comprehensive approach than Trump is laying out,” Sanders continued. “So what I would like to see is Congress begin to rethink our trade policies and hopefully we will have a president supportive of that. So he is identifying the problem correctly but I’m not sure that his particular solution at this moment is exactly the right one.”

Sanders, who spoke to The Daily Beast before a Friday trip that would bring him to Texas and Arizona, noted that voters he had encountered in his cross-country swing were motivated by the notion that working class issues had been de-prioritized by politicians in Washington D.C. But while he and Trump may agree that tariffs could be used as a remedy, the Senator has a philosophical vision far broader than that.

Sanders spoke about the need for tax fairness and universal health care, higher wages and tougher regulation of Wall Street. He called a recent deregulation bill passed through the Senate a “dangerous piece of legislation.” Though, unlike his colleague, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), he didn’t criticize Democrats for supporting it, suggesting that it never would have been considered if Republicans hadn’t forced the matter.

In the year-plus since Trump took office, Sanders had made the case that Democrats need to take arguments like these directly to Trump-voters. He has done so himself. And in some unexpected places, like Alabama and the Oklahoma statehouse, Democrats have registered wins. Much of that appears owed to a backlash to the president. But it’s also clear that Sanders has had an impact— if not in encouraging Democrats to compete in unconventional places than in crafting the policy visions that they’re putting forward.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-trump-diagnosed-the-problem-on-trade-but-his-solution-doesnt-work