SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
Many Republicans are uniting behind a Trump-Vance ticket. Bernie Sanders is making a case for keeping President Biden on the Democratic ticket. Sanders is up for reelection this year to his Vermont U.S. Senate seat. And when I spoke with him yesterday, he condemned the attack on former President Donald Trump.
BERNIE SANDERS: I would hope that every single American, regardless of his or her political views, understands that political violence in any way, shape or form, is not only disgusting. It is an insult to American democracy.
PFEIFFER: Sanders and other leading progressives have offered political cover to Biden. That's even though they have criticized him on issues like the war in Gaza. Sanders says Biden's record outweighs his alarming debate appearance.
SANDERS: Look, I saw that debate. It was a terrible performance. No one denies that. But I think too much in America, we look at politics as entertainment, as a contest, trying to judge somebody on their rhetorical abilities. That's not really what politics is or should be about. He had a bad night. The truth is, he makes gaffs all the time. He always has. He's not a particularly great speaker. But what politics is supposed to be about, and what we should be voting up in an election is what is this candidate going to do for me and my family?
PFEIFFER: But I feel like I have to note that for many people, it wasn't just about his oratory. It was about whether they wondered if he was cognitively up to it.
SANDERS: He is cognitively up to it. You know, he is 80 years of age, and that is the reality. No one is hiding that. But do I think he is cognitively capable of leading this country for the next four years? I do. And I would just remind people that being a president is very different than being, you know, a debater or on the campaign trail. Focus on what he has done, focus on what he is trying to do for the next four years, and I think the choice is pretty clear.
PFEIFFER: I have wondered what you have thought about Biden being so scrutinized for his age, because you're 82, older than Biden - you appear vigorous and sharp and still fully engaged in your job, passionate about your work. But I'm wondering if you feel like - is there ever a time that sheer age means it's time to pass the torch, or if you still...
SANDERS: Well, age is age. I mean, age is real. You know, when you're 80 or 82, that's a reality and people do have to take that into consideration. But that's one factor. You know, you can have some vigorous, 35-year-old running around the country, brilliant, sharp, articulate, who wants to cut Social Security and Medicare, who doesn't believe in climate change and wants to take a woman's right to control her own body away from her. Is that the kind of articulate person you want? So I would say, yes, being 80 - he is 80, and there are issues associated with that. But most importantly, in politics, the issue is, what does the candidate stand for? And I think the record is pretty clear that Biden is standing for the working class, the middle class of this country, prepared to help the elderly and the kids, protect women's rights, deal with climate change. To my mind, that is the most important thing that we should be looking at.
PFEIFFER: The Washington Post ran a story you may have seen in which they quoted a Republican strategist who made the case that the reason you support Biden so strongly is that any other Democratic president other than Biden would be unlikely to be as supportive of progressive causes you care about. What's your response to that?
SANDERS: Well, if - you know, they make the word progressive seem like a bad word. It is true that in my view, Biden has been the strongest president for working class people that we have seen in the modern history of this country. So if my Republican friend there is saying, yes, I like the idea that Biden is prepared to demand that the wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes so that we can expand Social Security benefits for low-income seniors, yeah, I plead guilty. If our Republican friend is saying, you know what, Bernie wants to see Medicare expanded to cover dental, hearing and vision. Last poll I saw had about 92% of the American people supporting that. So if the critique is that Biden is going to do the things that are popular, that the working families of this country desperately need, yeah, I plead guilty to being part of that process, trying to move him in that direction. But I didn't have to move him. He's already there.
PFEIFFER: Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Thank you for your time.
SANDERS: Thank you very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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