Sen. Sanders our job right now is to think big, to act in an unprecedented way both in terms of health care and the economy. I asking all americans, asking am every democrat, every everyndent, i am asking republican. Bob welcome to Washington Post live. Im bob costa, National Political reporter at the post. This morning i joined by senator am Bernie Sanders independent of vermont, the former democratic president ial candidate. He joins us from burlington, vermont. Thank you for being here. Sen. Sanders a pleasure to be with you. Bob lets cover a lot of ground. We have 30 minutes to get into some issues. First up, the pandemic. The death toll continues to rise. Millions of americans are out of work. As a u. S. Senator, what do you want to see in the priority in the next round of legislation . Sen. Sanders the first thing we have to appreciate is how unbelievably severe and horrific the current moment is. I think you can argue that we are experiencing that is unprecedented in the modern history of this country. When you look at 80,000 people already having died from the virus, when you look at 30 Million People having lost their jobs in the last couple of months. The first thing we have to to do as a nation, as a congress is say, in the midst of this terrible crisis, nobody in america is going to go hungry. Everybody in america is going to have the health care that they need. We are going to do what many of the European Countries are doing, and that is guaranteeing every American Worker continues to receive his or her paycheck. That we are going to make sure we get money into the pockets of the American People at this time when so many people are hurting. That is number one. Number two, i would hope that we use this moment to take a hard look at how we got to where we are today. How does that happen . That in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we have a Health Care System in which your health care is tied to your employment . And wherein 30 Million People lose their jobs, many millions of those people are also losing their health care. Does that make sense to anybody . Understood, whether you are working, whether you are not working, whether you are young, rich or poor, health care is a human right, not an employee benefit. When we talk about how we got to where we are and the desperation that so many people are seeing in this country, then we have to ask ourselves, what kind of an economy do we have when even in good times of a couple months ago, unemployment, 3 or 4 , half the people are living paychecktopaycheck. And once those paycheck stop, they suddenly find themselves in desperation and actual hunger. What kind of economy is that . Bob for now, senator sanders, we have a republican president in the white house. What is your assessment of his response . Sen. Sanders i think it has been atrocious. I think it has cost us thousands and thousands of lives. Compare this to how we have responded in this country to how australia, new zealand and countries around the world have responded. Trump from day one underplayed coronavirusthat the put us in. He did not use the defense production act to make sure our doctors and nurses were given the personal protective equipment that they needed. And he is coming after one quack theory after another. Instead of relying on science. What we have got to be doing now is making sure we have a massive amount of testing to determine what people have the virus, who does not, who is immune, having had the virus. We have to figure out how we protect to the one third of americans who are older or have preexisting conditions, who are very vulnerable to either dying or becoming seriously ill because of the pandemic. We have to say oh we have to not say oh, we are going to open up the economy, and it does not matter whether the waitress or the waiter may have the virus. Dont have to worry about that. We have to figure out how in a sensible and scientific way we make sure workplaces all over this country are safe. There is an enormous amount of work to be done. Unfortunately, we have a president who lies all the time. A president who does not believe in science. I think the congress is going to have to pick up the slack for the irresponsibility of this president. Bob to that point, senator sanders, would you advise democrats against cutting a deal on liability with leader mcconnell . Sen. Sanders the issue right right now is not unemployment liability. The issue right now is to make sure people in america do not go hungry. The issue right now is to make sure the people are not evicted from their apartments, whether they lose their homes, whether their Credit Scores are destroyed. We are in a moment, the worst economic moment right now. I dont think anyone does it since the great depression. , congress has got to say, how do we move immediately, tomorrow, to make sure every person in this country has the kind of Financial Resources they need in order to survive this pandemic. That is the issue. At a time when we have massive income and wealth inequality, when lower income and workingclass people are forced to put their lives on the line in order to get a paycheck to feed their families, i find it grossly immoral. The members of the senate, my republican colleagues and the president to say, what we have to do is we do not have to worry about those people. Yes, we do. If we have any sense of morality as a nation, we have to worry about the 20 of children in this country who face hunger. The older people who are isolated, not getting the food that they need that has to be , our set of priorities. Bob senator sanders, you used the phase quack theories. Are you frustrated at all with the Coronavirus Task for . Are they doing enough to provide a full scope of this pandemic and also perhaps challenging President Trump . Sen. Sanders look, people like fauci i think are doing a great job. You have other people who are under the thumb, who are intimidated by a president based on some recent remarks, i do not think he understands what testing, what the function of testing is about. I would hope that all of those who are around the president , who understand science have the courage to speak up and do the right thing. But clearly he has an intimidating effect not only on the task force but on the entire United States senate and the Republican Leadership there. What we need now is a call for morality and a call for science. How do you open up the economy in a way that is safe . That is the question that we have to be debating. Bob what should the role of billionaires be in this crisis . Sen. Sanders i think as a nation, we have got to ask ourselves, whether we are satisfied with an economy in which we have seen in recent years the billionaire class become much much richer while we , have a half a Million People today, robert, who are homeless, who are sleeping in shelters. Where we have a dysfunctional childcare system. What we have in many parts of this country, Public Education that is failing the children. The issue is not just the billionaires. The issue is the nature of an economy in which three people own more wealth in the bottom half of american society. Where almost half of all new income goes to the top 1 . I would hope in the midst of this unprecedented crisis, whether we are comfortable with so few having so much and so many having so little, that we are comfortable being the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people as a human right. That we are comfortable with our educational system which fails the little children in child care programs but also causes massive debt to people who do nothing more than go to college and graduate school and get a decent education. Now is the time, i think, in the midst of this crisis, if there is any Silver Lining to be , thinking about what kind of america we want in our future, what kind of society we went to want to live in. Bob you are talking about a rethinking on a domestic front. What about on Foreign Policy . Should this pandemic have us rethinking policy toward china . Sen. Sanders i think we should be rethinking our relationship to the entire world. Donald trump blames everybody for every problem other than himself. He has been a very divisive force in american society. He blames the undocumented, the africanamericans, blame muslims. You name it, he will blame somebody. Now he is blaming china. Chinas record in terms of the coronavirus, undermining the reality of what has happened is very, very problematic to say the least, very wrong. Right now, what we have got to do as a world is understand that if this pandemic and this virus has taught us anything, we have we are one world. We have to end the blame game. We have to figure out how we work with countries all over the world. Not only in coming up with a vaccine and treatment for this pandemic, and that is what the world should be cooperating about, and it is unbelievable to me that we have a president who cut funding for the world health organization, cut funding for as part of an effort to create an International Program to develop a vaccine. Unbelievable that he would do that. But it goes beyond that. It goes to the fact that as a world right now, we are spending trillions of dollars on weapons of destruction. And a president who prides himself, we are selling arms to saudi arabia. We are selling arms to people all over the world. Maybe we might want to think it is more important that people all over the world have health care and education and decent housing rather than more weapons of destruction. That is kind of the lesson i would learn from this moment. Bob i am struck by your framing of the future you want to see. Societal change, fundamental change. So think ahead to january 2021. If Vice President biden is in the oval office, if you are seeking that kind of change, will you pressure him if he has if he is president on health care to pursue more than a public option . Sen. Sanders absolutely. Amk, no question, i supporting joe biden. But joe and i have very serious disagreements on policy. His worst day, he will be 1000 times better than trump on his best day. I am strongly supporting joe. But i think that it is hard for me to imagine how anybody could defend the current structure of our Health Care System. Before the pandemic, robert before the pandemic, 87 million , people uninsured or underinsured. We paid by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. We have a primary Health Care System which is way behind other countries, and clearly, we had an Inadequate Public Health system in which our doctors and nurses did not even have the masks and the gloves and the gowns they needed to do their jobs and protect themselves. For all of that, we had the privilege of spending twice as much per person as any other country on earth. And now when millions of people are losing their health care, because it is attached to their jobs, it is just hard for me to imagine anybody defending this Current System except the health care industry, which made 100 billion in profits last year. I got that. Anyone else should say this system is so dysfunctional. So wasteful. We need to move in a new direction. So you know i believe that , medicare for all is a direction we have got to go. Health care is a human right. Not an employee benefit. I would and im going to do my best to move joe in that direction. I think one way we can move in that direction is the age of medicare eligibility which is now 65 down to 55. And make sure every kid in america under 18 has health care in a simple, costeffective program. I think that is a popular idea. And i hope joe will move in that direction. Bob the cabinet is going to matter if he is elected. If you want to see him move in that direction who he picks , matters. Who would you like to see at hhs and treasury . These positions matter when it comes to policymaking. Sen. Sanders fisher do. They sure do. You are absolutely right. It is one thing i have talked to joe on a couple of occasions. Trying to move him in a more progressive direction. We will see the process continuing. I think when he does that it is , not like, he has come up with some radical idea. That iw what, last poll saw, majority of American People support health care as a human right. The majority of American People believe we have got to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. We have got to make it easier for workers to join unions. These are not radical ideas. These are ideas that i think are popular and are good public policy. So all i would say is i hope very much that joe will take a hard look at some of the leading progressives in this country. I think we all know their names. And bob senator, i am not familiar with who you see as those names. Sen. Sanders i think you do. [indiscernible] im going to get an email saying, why didnt you mention me . Bob give me a little preview of what is on your mind. Sen. Sanders the congressional progressive caucus the house , progressive caucus, youre. Oing to find the chairmen we have progressives in the United States senate. You have progressives who are not in congress right now. What you need to bring into the cabinet is not only people who want the progressive ideology but people who have the experience of interacting with workingclass people who understand that now is the time to tell the billionaire class, to tell the 1 that this economy is going to change. That it cannot be based on greed and selfishness. That we need to create a cooperative type of economy where all of our people do well. Not just the people on top. Bob have you given him the same kind of advice on a running mate . Sen. Sanders i really have not. That is an issue i have stayed away from. Bob why . Sen. Sanders that is an issue he is going to have to make. Somebody he trusts. When you are picking a running make, that is a very personal decision. It is not just an ideological decision. It is a personal decision. He is who he is. He will have to make a decision picking somebody who he is comfortable with. What i have been talking to him about very strongly is the need to respond vigorously not to the moment that we are in. The American People understand, unlike trump, we are hearing the pain that is out there. We are prepared to take the bold actions that are necessary right now. We need unprecedented action because we are living in an unprecedented moment. That is what i think joe has got to be doing. And then as we look to the future, i think we have to challenge many of the fundamental tenets which have guided us over the years. The basic worldview of donald trump is, the function of human life, robert, is for you to become a billionaire. If you have to rob, cheat, steal, lie, that is all right. That is what life is about. Maybe you can make it. You can have 50 billion. Lucky you. Maybe that is one way to look at the world. The other way is to look more like what scandinavia looks like. How do we guarantee Health Care Care to all people . Do we make sure every worker in america has paid family and medical leave . How do we love our children and give them the best childcare that we know we can give them, the best education we know we can give them . How do we lead the world in combating Climate Change or making sure sorry. Bob no, no sorry. , i did not mean to interrupt. I know you are focused on the issues. Just indulge me for one second. We are not going to get into a name game on vp, but we have got a lot of emails about biden and warren. How would you see that . A lot of liberals and progressives in the democrats have written about that. Sen. Sanders i think she would be a great choice. If that is somebody that biden feels comfortable about. Again as i said, i think it is a very personal decision. Not quite like getting married, know somebody , youre going to have to feel very comfortable with. A lot of that is personal chemistry. Bob a couple other things on the campaign. Vice President Biden has worried that the president will try to delay the election. Do you share that concern . Sen. Sanders when it comes to trump, it is impossible to predict anything. I do not believe that donald trump is a very strong believer in democracy. I think he is guided by his own personal themes. And that is in this case, to get reelected or to enrich his own family. So i trust him not at all. I think what we want to do is to i remember robert you , remember this as well. A month ago over so, we had an election in wisconsin. And some of us said, this is not a good idea. And other states were postponing their elections. Republicans in wisconsin were hellbent on holding the election. Last i heard, dozens and dozens of people who came out or were poll workers were made ill. What we are trying to do in the congress is locate the necessary amounts of money that is needed to help states provide paper ballots that will be needed for november. So nobody knows what the country is going to look like from a healthwise at the very least, everybody in this country should have the right to vote by paper ballot. That is what we have to move toward. Bob senator sanders, a former senate staffer, tara reade, has accused Vice President biden of sexual assault. What is your view of the Vice President s response . Sen. Sanders look, we have fought for many, many years to try to create a climate where every woman in this country who believes she was harassed or worse, assaulted to speak up without impunity. Tara reade has that absolute right. As you know, joe biden has vigorously, vigorously denied that charge. People have to listen to his statement as well and respect that statement as well. I think it makes common sense. Its joba has got to do as independent in an independent way of investigating her claims. That is about all that i can say. Bob should the Vice President provide full access to his papers at the university of delaware and elsewhere . Sen. Sanders [indiscernible] i just think the media have to do its job. I know the Washington Post has looked into it. The New York Times has looked into it. Other media have looked into it, and the American People have to make their decisions. Bob the media is always looking for more information. That is why i asked the papers question. Sen. Sanders i just do not know enough about it, what the pluses and minuses of those records. [indiscernible] bob what were you saying . We are on skype. We are doing our best. Sen. Sanders i know. Bob senator, usually i am always confronting you in the hallways and you are running toward the train. In the final few minutes, lets talk about your movement your , campaign. Many supporters of yours still feel demoralized by your defeat in the primary and they are skeptical of Vice President biden. You say you are a supporter, but many remain skeptical. What is your message to them . Sen. Sanders let me just say this. I will do everything i can to defeat donald trump. Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country. Joe biden and i have strong, Strong Political disagreements. Everybody knows that. We competed against each other for the primary. He got the votes for a variety of reasons and i did not. He has the delegates. And he will in all likelihood become the nominee. I want to say to progressives and workingclass people all over this country, understand that we have come a very long way in recent years. Ideas that are now kind of mainstream ideas, whether it is health care as a human right, whether it is guaranteeing every american a job at a decent wage. Minimum wage to 15 an hour. Making colleges tuition free or forgiving student debt. Understanding what a major exam major existential threat Climate Change is to our planet. At the end of the day, what is most important is changing political consciousness, because when the American People at the Grassroots Level want something, politicians will follow. We got somebody like joe biden right now. He does not hold my views. Joe believes in a 15 an hour minimum wage now. Joe believes in creating millions of jobs, rebuilding the infrastructure. Joe believes in making it easier for workers to join unions. I think you are going to see him coming out strongly fairly coming out fairly strongly with progressive ideas on Climate Change. We have come a long way. What we should be proud of is that the young people of this country, and by that i am not just talking about 20yearolds. Im talking about 35, 50 or under. By and large their views are consistent with what we have been fighting for. During the campaign for whatever reason, i did not do well with older people. That is just a fact. But even in most states where we lost, we did really well with young people. I think the future is with our ideas about a more just society. About not having the income and wealth inequality we have. That health care and education and housing and Retirement Security are human rights. We need a more vibrant democracy, we have to stand up for the dispossessed, the undocumented and the minorities. I am lost. I am disappointed. Millions of people are disappointed. I want people to know that because of the grassroots activists some, activism, knocking on millions of doors we knocked on and the phone because we made, we are changing america in a fundamental way and we have got to continue going. What i said when i suspended my campaign, i suspend the campaign but we certainly do not suspend the movement. The Grassroots Movement must continue. It will continue. And we will transform this country. Bob senator you have said you , have come a long way. I was covering that in 2016. You said you struggled with older voters. You also struggled with africanamerican voters. Here is a question i have always wanted to ask you. Do you believe older voters and africanamerican voters were rejecting your ideas or were they rejecting your view of your own electability . Sen. Sanders i do not know the answer to that. I think one of the things that our opponents as you know, robert many millions of dollars , in super pac money was spent against us. One of the arguments against us was that bernie cannot defeat trump, which i think was a false argument to be honest with you. But i think older people, the word democratic socialism i think makes them a little bit nervous. In terms of the africanamerican community, among younger africanamericans, we did very well. Very well among latinos, we did very, very well. I think we can argue about why and you know, bob what does the left in what does the left in this nation need to do to build a Better Coalition with older africanamerican voters . Sen. Sanders i do not know the answer to that. I think on the issues i found , something very interesting. If my memory is correct, there was an exit poll in mississippi. And i did very badly in mississippi. The exit poll showed a majority of the people in the very conservative state of mississippi support medicare for all. And for good reason, because their Health Care System is a disaster. I think what we have got to do is connect candidates not just candidates running for president. I will be actively supporting a number of candidates running for Congress Running for state , legislature all across this country. What we have to do is connect our views, our ideology about a government that works for all few, with good, articulate candidates. Bob final thing here, senator, do you want to run for president again . Sen. Sanders i think the likelihood is very slim. I think next time around, you are going to see another candidate carrying the progressive banner. Bob very slim. So there is a chance you could run . [laughter] bob you did not fully close the door, senator. Sen. Sanders lets stop worrying about what is going to happen in four years from now. I think it is very unlikely i will be running for president again. Right now, the focus not only of progressives, not only of democrats but independents, moderate republicans has got to be how we come together to defeat this very dangerous president who is in the office right now. Bob senator sanders, thank you for speaking with me. We appreciate your time this morning. Sen. Sanders thank you very much, robert. Bob thank you. Trumps president daughterinlaw lara trump interviews Mitch Mcconnell on his reaction to the coronavirus and president ial campaign. The president s Reelection Campaign hosted this event. Evening. D i am lara trump. We are so excited to be joined by our special guest, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell very welcome to team trump online. Thank you for being here. Sen. Mcconnell i am glad to be with you. Looking forward to talking to you. Lara there is so much talk about. Lets turnur