Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont angrily stormed off when a reporter asked if his leftist ally, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, should run for Senate as the civil war within the Democratic Party escalates.
During an ABC News interview that aired Sunday, reporter Jonathan Karl asked Sanders if he believes Ocasio-Cortez should join him in the upper chamber of Congress.
Speculation has been mounting that AOC could challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York in a primary after Schumer supported a government funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown.
The left has been grousing that Schumer should be replaced because he has not done enough to obstruct President Donald Trump.
As Sanders effusively praised Ocasio-Cortez, the ABC interviewer interjected, “Would you like to see her join in the Senate?”
Sensing that Karl was trying to get him to address the splintering within his party, Sanders gruffly replied, “Right now, we have, as I said, just a whole lot of people in the Congress. OK, Jonathan. Thanks.”
The octogenarian then jumped up from his seat as if his pants were on fire and tried to scurry off.
When asked by @JonKarl if he would like to see Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders abruptly tried to end the interview. https://t.co/v4ppEYgwCZ pic.twitter.com/4Hkht8sJAA
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 23, 2025
Did Sanders panic when he realized he was about to be used to undercut Schumer?
A stunned Karl stammered that he had “one more important question” and pleaded with the senator to sit down again.
Sanders chided Karl for asking a “nonsense” question and said he doesn’t have the time or patience for Washington, D.C., gossip.
“OK, you know, you want to do nonsense, do nonsense,” Sanders replied. “No, I don’t want to talk about inside-the-Beltway stuff.”
Karl then convinced an annoyed Sanders — whose face had turned beet-red — to resume the interview.
“Well, fine. But I don’t want to talk about this,” the senator said. “What was the last question?”
Karl asked the two-time failed presidential candidate if he’s planning a third run in 2028.
“Right now, I’m very proud that the people of the state of Vermont sent me back to the Senate with 63 percent of the vote,” Sanders said.
“Right now, I’m Vermont’s senator. That’s what I do, and I’m very happy to do it.”
He added: “I am 83 years of age. And I’m tired.”
Bernie Sanders’ aggressive bristling at the mere mention of the civil war festering within his party suggests the splintering is worsening.
From the outside, it’s laughable that Ocasio-Cortez could emerge as the leader of the Democratic Party. This has been ongoing scuttlebutt since Trump’s first term.
Unlike party elders, such as Schumer or former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, AOC — a self-described “Democratic socialist” — lacks the gravitas and mainstream appeal to lead her party.
Even within the Democratic Party, the “Bronx Bolshevik” is considered too far-left and extremist.
“Her politics are just too far-left for this party,” a chair of a state Democratic party told NBC News on condition of anonymity.
Similarly, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania mocked AOC’s impractical obstructionism in a fiery X post.
Fight “harder”—a stunt that would have harmed millions and plunged us into chaos.
We kept our government open.
Deal with it. pic.twitter.com/B7NvcidNfa
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 21, 2025
There’s no denying Ocasio-Cortez‘s popularity among young voters on the far-left, but it’s unclear if she can appeal to mainstream Democrats.
If nothing else, the former bartender’s clownish presence on the national stage provides a lot of comic relief.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was actually facing an empty parking lot during emotional border protest photo op
STORY: https://t.co/AKwhcuOdTO pic.twitter.com/iytCA560WS
— RT (@RT_com) June 28, 2019
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez: “I’m proud to be a bartender. Ain’t nothing wrong that. There’s nothing wrong with working retail…There is nothing wrong with preparing that your neighbors will eat.”
“There is nothing wrong with being a working person in the United States of America.” pic.twitter.com/VTzLpybKfw
— ABC News (@ABC) April 5, 2019
What AOC lacks in substance, she makes up for in frivolous bluster and buffoonish showmanship.
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