Sanders On NH Primary Campaign, Impeachment Inquiry Against 'Extremely Corrupt' Trump
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) – Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders met with voters and small business owners in New Hampshire Monday. WBZ-TV's Paula Ebben interviewed Sen. Sanders in Manchester.
Paula Ebben: "Senator Sanders – thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Let me start with the impeachment inquiry. As of this morning, numbers certainly seem to have shifted that more Americans are in favor of this moving forward. How do you feel about it right now?"
Sen. Bernie Sanders: "Well, I've been in favor of an impeachment inquiry for many, many months now. I believe that we have - and I say this with no joy – a president who is extremely corrupt. I expect and hope that the House will move quickly on impeachment articles as expected then comes to the Senate. And here's where the challenges are. I hope that Senator McConnell is prepared to put the interests of the country ahead of politics and that he will allow for a serious trial to take place."
Ebben: "Because of concerns about how the Senate will take an impeachment, do you think censure might be a better avenue for the house?"
Sanders: "No, I think we're looking, look, we have a Constitution, which unfortunately, the President of the United States has apparently not read. But part of their process is if the House impeaches, the president, and I think there is a good chance that they will – it comes to the Senate, and what the American people then are entitled to is a serious trial to hear the evidence. I don't like Trump, but that's another story. The question is has he committed impeachable offences? That's what has to be debated."
Ebben: "Are you concerned that it will harm the whole Democratic field that naturally because of the nature of the impeachment inquiry question will constantly come up about Joe Biden and his son? Do you think that's damaging to the Democratic field as a whole?"
Sanders: "Look, all I can say, and what I think is damaging is that it is absolutely imperative that candidates and the United States Congress show the American people that they can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time. In other words, that while they focus on impeachment, which is enormously important, they also focus on the fact that tens of millions of Americans making 11 to 12 bucks an hour, got to raise the minimum wage, that healthcare is a human right, climate change, which is an existential threat to the planet, we can't ignore those issues and just focus on Trump, you got to do both."
Ebben: "There is a sense that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is gaining on you, perhaps pulling ahead of you in the minds of some Democratic voters. How do you differentiate yourself from Elizabeth Warren?"
Sanders: "By running an aggressive campaign on the issues that impact the American people, by telling the American people that for my entire life, I have been there fighting for the working families of this country. I think we are the ideas and the issues we're talking about are resonating with folks in New Hampshire and Massachusetts all over this country that's why I think we're going to win."
Ebben: "Time and again when Democratic voters are polled they talk about how their primary focus is removing President Trump from office, they want a nominee who will be able to defeat the president. For voters who say they're concerned that your views on the Green New Deal, climate, Medicare for all are too far to the left for you to be the nominee, what do you say what?"
Sanders: "I have my doubts about polling in general in this day and age, but if you look at polls, what do you find? Virtually every national poll done in the last year has me defeating Donald Trump on occasion (in a head to head poll) and sometimes by double digits, so I think that we are in fact the strongest campaign to defeat Trump."
Ebben: "Do you fully expect to win the New Hampshire primary once again?"
Sanders: "We did last time and we're taking nothing for granted. We have thousands of volunteers in the state. I am running all over the state. I think in two days we will do five or six meetings, and I think that the volunteer effort and the staff that we have, and the meetings that we're holding indicate to me - and the great turnouts – that we are going to win again."
