CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Bernie Sanders

Interview

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Joining me now to discuss the President's attack on Harris is Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders, I mean, I cannot believe that we're even here talking about birtherism.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Well, we're not. And Anderson, we're not. This is so absurd. It's just another racist lie.

It's an embarrassment to the people of our country. But what Trump is trying to do right now among many other things, is deflect attention away from the reality facing working people in this country. He wants us to talk about all of that stupid stuff. But the reality today in America is there are many millions of people

who are unemployed, people who are worried about being able to feed their kids, worried about being evicted from their homes, pay their bills, have healthcare.

And Trump will deflect attention from that, because among other things, he has refused to sit down and negotiate with Democrats about extending the kind of benefits that we provided four months ago.

[20:05:40]

SANDERS: He wasn't there. McConnell is not there. I guess, Mr. Meadows now, his chief negotiator, is on vacation.

What we have got to do is extend that $600.00 a week supplement for workers all over this country who are unemployed. We've got to continue and expand on that $1,200.00 check that people desperately needed.

We have got to provide healthcare to all of our people, provide funding for cities and states and schools who are desperately in need of that funding. But Trump won't talk about that. That's not what he does. He'll try to deflect attention.

But this is just another racist, stupid attack from a President who must be defeated in November.

COOPER: I mean, the other thing he doesn't want to talk about is COVID-19 and a pandemic which has killed more than 160,000 Americans. Who knows the actual number, and the actual number of people who have actually been infected with this virus. The President hasn't attended -- he attended one Taskforce meeting since April. He tweeted out pictures of it the other week.

But he's not -- there is no national plan. We're still talking about testing. We're still talking about swabs. We are still talking about PPE and contact tracing.

SANDERS: Anderson, tens and tens of thousands of people have died unnecessarily because of the irresponsibility of this President, who in fact does not believe in science.

He doesn't believe in the science of climate change. He doesn't believe in the science of epidemiology.

So what we have had from day one is a President who has ignored the severity of the crisis. This is a President who has attacked and humiliated doctors and scientists who are working on our behalf.

This is a President who held a rally, a political rally indoors in Tulsa without social distancing, without masks and people got sick, some died as a result of that rally.

This is a President who has done nothing to make sure that our doctors and nurses have the personal protective equipment that they need. Unbelievable. That doctors and nurses still do not have the masks, the gloves, the

gowns that they need, and we have today the highest per capita death rate in terms of COVID of any major country on Earth.

And state after state, the situation is getting worse. People have no idea what to do in terms of whether or not kids should go to school. Total disaster. Total irresponsibility. No national plan other than to attack the C.D.C. and doctors and scientists.

Those are the issues he wants to run away from, but we are not going to allow him to run away from those issues. And by the way, let's be clear, we will never get a handle on the economic collapse unless we deal with the pandemic. They are directly related.

But right now, what we have got to do is focus on those important issues.

COOPER: The other thing he is making an attack on is the U.S. Postal Service, which began a while ago, but it has taken on greater importance and resonance given the question of mail-in voting.

SANDERS: Well, what this is about is not complicated. Trump may be crazy, but he is not stupid. And he looks at polling, he is behind. And I think what he and his friends believe that if they can suppress the vote, make it harder for people to vote, they have the better chance to win the election.

So we've been talking about the Postal Service now for months and months and months, and he's been say thing and saying that. Today, you have got to give him credit. He was honest. He was upfront.

He is saying we want to defund -- he wants to defund the Postal Service.

COOPER: Yes, let me play what he said so viewers can hear it and then we'll talk about it, because I know you tweeted about it. So, let's just play what he said.

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TRUMP: Yes, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots.

Now, in the meantime, they aren't getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if they don't get these two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting because they're not equipped to have it.

Now, if we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money. That means, they can't have universal mail-in voting. They just can't have it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

[20:10:13]

COOPER: I don't know if you realized he was saying that out loud, but I mean, he said it out loud.

SANDERS: Anderson, I don't have -- you're asking me to comment? I don't have to comment. He just said it. What he has just told the American people -- and listen, you know, I am a proud conservative, not everybody out there agrees with me. I got it. There are moderates. There are conservatives.

Okay, I am a proud progressive, but you know, if you believe in America, if you believe in democracy, you do not support a President who is literally trying to destroy the Postal Service because he does not want people in the middle of a pandemic to vote.

You remember some months ago, Anderson, they had the primary in Wisconsin. I had my reservations about that. People went to the primary, some people got sick as a result.

People are nervous about this virus. Poll workers -- people who work in the polling places are nervous about the virus.

Right here in Vermont, just the other day, we had our primaries. Voter turnout was very, very high. Overwhelmingly mail-in ballots. It worked just fine.

But what Trump is attempting to do, I'd make it clear, is to suppress the vote by destroying the Postal Service, by making it harder for people to fill out and send mail-in ballots.

COOPER: Do you think that's going to work?

SANDERS: We'll do everything we can to make sure that it doesn't work. I've called for the resignation of the new Postmaster General, who in his own way through regulations is trying to sabotage the Postal Service.

But clearly, it seems to me pretty obvious that if there's a decent- sized turnout in this election, Trump loses. And I think Trump understands that and that is why he is going to do everything he can to suppress the vote, including trying to destroy the Postal Service.

COOPER: Senator Bernie Sanders, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

SANDERS: Thank you.

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