Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the reelection of former President Trump would be the “end of democracy” in an interview released Saturday by The Guardian.

“It will be the end of democracy, functional democracy,” Sanders said in the interview.

The Vermont senator also said in the interview that he thinks that another round of Trump as the president will be a lot more extreme than the first.

“He’s made that clear,” Sanders said. “There’s a lot of personal bitterness, he’s a bitter man, having gone through four indictments, humiliated, he’s going to take it out on his enemies. We’ve got to explain to the American people what that means to them — what the collapse of American democracy will mean to all of us.”

Sanders’s words echo those President Biden made in a recent campaign speech during which he said that Trump’s return to the presidency would risk American democracy. The president highlighted the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol in an attempt to cement a point about Trump and other Republicans espousing a kind of extremism that was seen by the world on that day.

  • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    It’s just a new way for below average people to think they’re smarter than everyone else.

    Now if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black…

    We should not be afraid to speak out against morally unjustifiable support for the mass killing of innocent civillians in our name, and with our tax money. That is the reality of the situation, and it is wrong. It will always be wrong regardless of who is doing the killing.

    You thinking you have the more enlightened position simply because you are willing to carte blanche accept this behavior or foreign policy position from the candidate that will be better for the United States doesn’t make you a genius, it makes you self-rigtheous and self-centered. Real innocent people are really dying, and your ability to shrug that off in such a smug, self-satisfied way is truly appalling.

    • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      We absolutely should be speaking out against the genocide in Gaza and the US role in it. It is horrific. And I cannot shrug it off in good conscience.

      I also intend to take action to prevent things getting worse via Trump being elected again. It is possible to do both.

      What I cannot fathom is the same handful of users saying over and over how they cannot vote for Biden in good conscience while refusing to acknowledge that by doing so they are effectively permitting Trump to take office–and that such an outcome will be worse for gaza and worse in many other ways. These are the same folks that somehow don’t see how Republicans getting in power will significantly damage our democracy more than any time in the last half century.

      Their inflexibility and refusal to genuinely engage on the topic reminds me an awful lot of the rampant astroturfing on Reddit back when. It gets exhausting seeing the same inane bullshit talking points over and over.

      • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        What I cannot fathom is the same handful of users saying over and over how they cannot vote for Biden in good conscience

        I can definitely appreciate that, but I’m not one of them.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        What I cannot fathom is the same handful of users saying over and over how they cannot vote for Biden in good conscience while refusing to acknowledge that by doing so they are effectively permitting Trump to take office–and that such an outcome will be worse for gaza and worse in many other ways. These are the same folks that somehow don’t see how Republicans getting in power will significantly damage our democracy more than any time in the last half century.

        Some people won’t pull the lever to divert the trolley.

        I will, but I don’t think Dudley Do-Right is justified in tying people to the tracks just because Snidely Whiplash does.

    • osarusan@kbin.social
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      10 months ago

      You thinking you have the more enlightened position simply because you are willing to carte blanche accept this behavior or foreign policy position from the candidate that will be better for the United States doesn’t make you a genius, it makes you self-rigtheous and self-centered. Real innocent people are really dying, and your ability to shrug that off in such a smug, self-satisfied way is truly appalling.

      This really isn’t at all what he said, and is an extremely dishonest thing to post.

      You complain that your comments fall on deaf ears, but when you accuse people of things that are blatant lies, what do you expect?

        • osarusan@kbin.social
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          10 months ago

          No it wasn’t, not even in the least. It’s absolutely dishonest to pretend that’s what it was.

          Go after him for what he actually said instead of making up things to be angry about.

          • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Look, I don’t agree with you. I found what the OP said to be smug and self-satisfying as I said. I also found it to be pointedly critical towards anybody pointing out that Joe Biden has a blind spot in supporting Israel’s unethical campaign against Palestinians.

            You want to ignore that element, or you don’t see it that way. That’s your prerogative, but don’t call me dishonest because I’m not being dishonest. There’s a difference between legitimate disagreement and dishonesty.

            • osarusan@kbin.social
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              10 months ago

              Look at the text you wrote, and the parts that I bolded.

              There is a difference between legitimate disagreement and dishonesty.

              Pretending that OP is giving carte blanche to genocide or shrugging that off is an outright lie. Accusing them of anything else based on that lie is also dishonest.

              • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                You either cannot or will not admit the hypocrisy of OP being hyper-critical and condensending towards people who are upset about the immoral support that is being given to kill innocent civillians, and then trying to bully them for it.

                Whichever it happens to be, I no longer give a shit. Therfore, we are at an impasse. So, I’m done arguing with you as it is a waste of time. It’s been real, it’s been fun, but it ain’t been real fun ✌️

                • osarusan@kbin.social
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                  10 months ago

                  See, I might have cared about OP’s post being hypocritical or condescending. But then you went and posted something so outrageously dishonest, and when it was pointed out instead of owning up to your mistake and trying to do better, you doubled down on it and got pissy. But since you don’t care, I guess that’s where we end it.

      • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Thanks, but I expect my comment will mostly fall on deaf ears. I find that to be both sad, and yet entirely expected.

        I will vote for Joe Biden because it is the only logical thing to do to save our democracy in the immediate term, and it is in my own self-interest. But I am also fully aware of the false dichotomy we are faced with when it comes to the support for Israel, the killing of innocent people with our tax dollars in the name of a “holy crusade” I don’t believe in, and I refuse to turn a blind eye to that simply because it is psychologically convenient.