Jerry Kremer

Trump and Sanders: starting to look alike?

Posted

Everyone says that none of the current candidates for president have anything in common. On the face of it, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders seem to come from three different worlds. But after digesting hundreds of articles and watching hundreds of hours of television coverage, I’ve concluded that the two candidates who are most alike are Trump and Sanders.

In fairness to Sanders, I’m not implying that he is a racist or a degrader of women, or is seeking to deport 11 million people. The similarity starts with party labels. Sanders may be running as a Democrat, but he isn’t one. He invented the term “democratic socialist,” but that is a fiction. As for Trump, he is anything but a Republican. Trump has hijacked the Republican Party, and Sanders is trying to hijack the Democratic Party.

Both men have blasted the two-party system as being “rigged.” Now that Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, the system is no longer rigged. Sanders moans and groans that the party he signed on to is prejudiced against him, but if the Democrats would give him the nomination, then the system would immediately become a fair one. There’s a simple lesson for both of them: If you want the nomination and the party lets you in the front door, you have no right to complain about the rules.

To date, there have been primary contests in approximately 40 states. Both Trump and Sanders have benefited from a large turnout of white people. Both men seek to appeal to disaffected, angry and bitter voters, all of whom dislike the establishment. Both men have issues with almost any minority you can name. Trump insults them, and Sanders can’t find a way to appeal to them.

Neither one has any deep knowledge of foreign affairs. Trump is constantly insulting China, Japan, Mexico and many other countries. He brags about his admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, even though his only contact with Putin was just prior to an interview on “60 Minutes.” Sanders was dumbstruck during the debates when any foreign affairs question was asked, but at least he stays quiet when he doesn’t know the subject.

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