 In an interview with Jake Tapper and CNN, Bernie Sanders reacted to both of the mass shootings that occurred over the weekend and I want to play what he has to say because in times like this You know, this is where we especially rely on Leaders and leadership. This is where you know, we're supposed to hear from people Who tell us what we need to hear and what we want to hear at times like this things that are Comforting to hear, you know, so I think that that's important psychologically for all of us Because it helps us to recover faster and it gives us a little bit of a focal point. What should we be focusing on? And that's why I'm gonna let you hear from Bernie because I think that he says things that a leader should be saying in the time like this You tweeted just a few minutes ago quote Mr. President stop your racist hateful and anti-immigrant rhetoric Your language creates a climate which emboldens violent Extremists could you elaborate on more what you mean by that tweet? Look, I am sure that President Trump does not want anybody in this country to go around shooting other people But what he has got to understand is that when you have Language that is racist That is virulently anti-immigrant. There are mentally unstable people in this country Who see that as a sign to do to terrible terrible things? So I think the president has got to stop that racism racism and that xenophobia immediately a second of all Jake I think the issue of the moment is whether the NRA will continue to determine gun policy in America Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the American people gun owners and non-gun owners want common-sense gun safety legislation So what I have asked Mitch McConnell Republican leader of the Senate bring us back to Washington Re-end the recess right now and let us sit down and work on the kind of legislation that we need The truth of the matter is the the American people Want to expand? Background checks they want to end the so-called gun show loophole They want to in many cases ban assault weapons and my own viewers We may want to be thinking about treating assault weapons the same way we treat machine guns today having very strict License requirements for them We want to make sure that we end the process by which people can legally walk into a gun show by all of the Guns that they want and then sell those guns to criminal elements So there's a lot to be worked on but I think the American people are sick and tired of the NRA Determining gun policy in America. So I don't have much to add but what he's saying here is apt You know Donald Trump I Don't believe that he wants people to do these types of domestic terror attacks But what he doesn't realize or maybe he does realize and just doesn't care is that By using that rhetoric by constantly, you know fanning the flames against immigrants. That's a direct consequence You can't have it both ways you can't continue to use white supremacist rhetoric and Not expect instances of violence to occur with a greater frequency. You just can't But Donald Trump does not care because he's a white supremacist So this all comes naturally and also, you know, let's be real I think that this is to a degree of political calculation because since he Started his 2020 campaign. He really upped the ante when it comes to just being Openly xenophobic and racist. We've seen the attacks on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar We've seen the attacks on Elijah Cummings and You know, this is a result of that Play stupid games win stupid prizes. Unfortunately for Donald Trump though. He's not the one Who is coming out horribly? He may look bad when people, you know use his words as a jumping point to do horrible things But it's the people who were affected by this who have to suffer because we have politicians in this country that They know that it will be Much more likely that they will be electorally successful if they throw red meat to the base and Fear monger about immigrants scapegoat immigrants Now Bernie Sanders talks about the NRA. He talks about the specific legislative things we can do to curtail violence and he kind of makes the point that YouTuber Kristo Avalice makes that, you know, you've got to talk about white supremacy and you've got to talk about violence because you know people use guns to carry out these types of terror attacks, but what's fueling them is White supremacy so we have to address white supremacy and we've got to tackle it head-on We've got to talk about it bring it to light and don't just beat around the bush name and shame the people Who are doing this otherwise, you know, we're lying to ourselves We're lying to the american people people need to be educated What we are seeing from the president is white supremacy because he is a white supremacist Don't be afraid to call racism racism. This is exactly what it is Now another portion of this clip that I wanted to talk about is when bernie sanders Responded to whether or not donald trump is a white supremacist because it goes, you know right along with what i'm saying here One of your 2020 rivals congressman beto auror told me this morning that he believes president trump Is a white supremacist Or a white nationalist. Do you agree? I do Look and it gives me no pleasure to say this, but I think all of the evidence out there Suggest that we have a president who is a racist Who is a xenophobe? Who appeals and is trying to appeal to white nationalism and You know, it breaks my heart to have to say That this is the person we have who was president of the united states now again. I want to emphasize that What he said there is really important donald trump is a white supremacist We have to call it like we see it and what it is factually speaking White supremacy is white supremacy and donald trump is a white supremacist And when bernie sanders, you know, he just directly says trump is a racist. He's a xenophobe. He's a bigot This is important. It's important that you call Racism racism xenophobia xenophobia and white supremacy white supremacy Because what republicans have done Is they've made it socially unacceptable To call out racism like if you're going to Speak out against racism. You have to avoid calling someone racist. You have to avoid using the r word Racism, but if you refuse to call out racism and white supremacy for what it is, you're letting them win You're letting them win You know, this is the same thing. I remember back in around 2010 2011 The national organization for marriage, you know run by maggi gallagher at the time Was saying look, we're against same-sex marriage But that doesn't make us homophobic. We don't believe that gay people are inferior to us We just don't believe that marriage should be between, you know, two men or two women And they didn't like being called homophobes when that's what they were Because that made them look bad. Nobody wants to be lumped in with bigots and racists And now if you're against same-sex marriage, it's almost Undisputable. You're a homophobe, right? So at the time republicans were saying the same thing. Don't let Them call you a homophobe Just because you think that gay people shouldn't be allowed to get married. We're seeing the same thing now with regard to racism Oh, what's that? You're against illegal immigration And now you're suddenly racist. I mean don't play into their games These are not honest actors. These are bad faith actors And they are scapegoating immigrants because they want you to blame them For all of the economic problems that their policies are creating. That's what this is about So when donald trump is called a white supremacist, not only is that accurate It's important because if we don't call white supremacy what it is We're effectively excusing that and that means we're part of the problem if we do that