From Staff Reports

WHEELING, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, lambasted Kamala Harris in a speech he gave on Aug. 8 in the Capitol Theatre in downtown Wheeling.

“Specifically,” AI Overview noted, “Sanders argued that the Democratic Party has neglected the working class, and he accused Harris of being overly influenced by billionaires who supported her 2024 presidential campaign. 

“He made these comments as part of his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour. 

“In a follow-up interview (with host Dana Bash on Aug. 10) on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ Sanders reiterated these criticisms, stating that Harris is a friend but her campaign’s core consultants were ‘heavily influenced by very wealthy people’ and that her campaign’s economic proposals were ‘vague’ and did not adequately address the economic challenges facing working families.”

Meanwhile, USA Today reported on Aug. 11 that a “Forbes analysis found that more billionaires backed Harris than (Donald) Trump. Some of Harris’ supporters included film director Steven Spielberg; Eric Schmidt of Google; Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs; and Melinda French Gates, former wife of Bill Gates....”

Also, USA quoted Sanders as telling Bash, “How do you run for president and not develop a strong agenda which speaks to the economic crisis facing working families?” 

He added that most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and that the healthcare system is “broken,” the newspaper noted.

Further, USA Today reported, “Bash then said that Harris did discuss affordability, to which Sanders replied that she did it in a ‘vague’ manner and that he didn’t want to ‘rehash’ the campaign. 

“‘I think the key to Democratic victories is to understand that you got to stand unequivocally with the working class of this country,’ Sanders told Bash. ‘You need an agenda that speaks to the needs of working people.’”