Bernie Sanders Offers Trump Backhanded Compliment Over Stephen Miller’s New Role

POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders provided a surprisingly mixed assessment of President Donald Trump when questioned regarding the appointment of Stephen Miller to the position of White House Chief of Staff.

In the wake of significant losses during Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump has begun restructuring his inner team. The move sees replacing Susie Wiles with her former deputy, Miller, who is widely recognized as the primary strategist behind the president’s restrictive immigration agenda.

Following a wave of Democratic victories set to hand them control of both the House and Senate in January, Sanders appeared on NBC News’ Meet the Press this Sunday. His primary focus remained on his legislative goals, including a proposal for a $20 hourly minimum wage and universal healthcare.

When host Kristen Welker shifted the conversation to Miller’s controversial new post and asked if he was the appropriate choice for the role, Sanders initially preferred to discuss Trump’s performance during his final two years in office. However, he did offer specific observations on Miller.

“I’ve said this before, Kristen, Trump…I personally believe he is mentally unbalanced, erratic, but he’s not stupid — and he’s a good politician. And I think when Trump looks out in the world, and he sees millions of people working for starvation wages, he might not be unsympathetic to raising the minimum wage to a living wage,” Sanders stated.

The senator also indicated that he was not particularly concerned about Miller’s appointment. This comes just as the 80-year-old president has faced increasing questions regarding his physical and mental readiness throughout his second term.

Throughout the past month, Trump held nearly daily rallies in an attempt to bolster Republican candidate support. These speeches were often marked by rambling and strange tangents, such as his repeated praise for the anatomy of Ohio Senator Jon Husted, who ultimately fell to Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Sanders, who is currently 85 years old, suggested that Trump would likely want to claim credit for implementing universal healthcare, a standard in many other nations. So I’m not worried about Miller. Do I think we can work with Trump? Maybe. I’m by no means guaranteeing it, but it is certainly worth the effort, the senator remarked.

Following the GOP’s midterm defeat, Trump told Fox News that he was open to collaborating with Democrats on various issues, specifically mentioning immigration.

Nevertheless, the president emphasized his willingness to utilize his veto power against any legislation he opposes. “They’re in control, but they’re really not in control because they can send over 50 different great bills that they’re all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp — veto,” Trump said.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)