Bernie Sanders: 'No, Kamala Harris Is Not More Progressive Than I Am'

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday refuted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's characterization of his 2024 Democratic opponent as the "most liberal senator" in the U.S., writing in an email to supporters that "for better or for worse, Kamala Harris is not more progressive than I am."

"It is always hard to respond to Trump's lies because, a day later, his lies become even more preposterous," wrote Sanders (I-Vt.), responding to "the constant claim" from Trump, Republican lawmakers, and right-wing media outlets "that Kamala Harris is more 'radical' and more 'far left' than Bernie Sanders."

"But, as we come together to defeat Trump and elect the vice president," Sanders continued, "let me just remind you of one simple fact: The so-called 'radical' and 'far left' agenda that we are fighting for is, in poll after poll, far more popular than Donald Trump, more popular than the Republican Party, and it is supported by a strong majority of the American people, including Republicans and Independents."

"More tax breaks to billionaires, budgets to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, letting polluters destroy our planet, letting drug companies charge whatever they want for medicine... That is radical."

Sanders' message to supporters came a day after Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) "is considered far more Conservative in the U.S. Senate than Comrade Kamala Harris ever was."

"She will only bring us Poverty, Chaos, and Heartache! Kamala is rated, by far, the Number One Most Liberal Senator," the former president added.

The Washington Post's Philip Bump observed in a column Tuesday that Trump's post was rooted "in a line of attack deployed during the 2020 election."

"Then, Trump's allies seized upon a rating from the government-data organization GovTrack that assessed Harris' record in the Senate in 2019," Bump wrote. "Harris was rated 'most liberal compared to All Senators,' GovTrack indicated, an assessment derived from its analysis of sponsorship and co-sponsorship of legislation."

"But GovTrack's analysis of Harris’s entire tenure in the Senate paints a different picture," he added. "In the 116th Congress, the one that ran through 2019 and 2020, Harris was the fourth-most liberal senator, according to GovTrack, coming in behind Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)."

Trump's Truth Social post echoed rhetoric that he has deployed at recent campaign rallies in an effort to cast Harris as a "radical left believer."

In his email to supporters on Tuesday, Sanders wrote that "when Trump, Republicans, and even some members of the corporate media try to scare you with words like 'radical' and 'far left,' it's important to understand what those policies actually mean and to know that these 'radical' ideas are already in place in many countries around the world."

"When we talk about guaranteeing healthcare as a right for all our people, we're talking about the ability to get the healthcare you and your loved ones need without fear of going bankrupt. We're talking about the ability to change jobs without fear of losing your healthcare," Sanders wrote. "When we talk about paid family and medical leave, we're talking about being able to spend the first few months with your newborn child without rushing back to work the next week."

"That is NOT a radical agenda," he added. "The Republican Party and Donald Trump: More tax breaks to billionaires, budgets to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, letting polluters destroy our planet, letting drug companies charge whatever they want for medicine... That is radical."