Bernie Sanders Breaks With Party, Admits Biden Failed On Key Issue

In a candid podcast appearance, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) offered rare praise for former President Donald Trump’s approach to border security. On the other hand, the progressive senator critiqued the Biden Administration’s record on the issue, all but admitting that the former largely left the border open.

Speaking on “The Tim Dillon Show” Sanders emphasized the fundamental need for national borders, stating, “So long as we have nation-states, you’ve got to have borders. If you don’t have any borders, then you don’t have a nation.”

Sanders, a leading progressive figure, was promoting his new book, “Fight Oligarchy,” during the episode. The Vermont independent, who caucuses with Democrats, did not mince words on the immigration enforcement debate. “Trump did a better job,” he said plainly.

“I don’t like Trump, you know, but we should have a secure border and it ain’t that hard to do.” He contrasted this with his assessment of President Joe Biden, noting, “Biden didn’t do it,” and adding, “I’m not going to sit here and tell you that overall [Biden] did a good job — it was not.”

The senator’s remarks represent a notable deviation in his public stance on immigration. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Sanders frequently challenged narratives around a “border crisis,” arguing that such rhetoric often demonized immigrants. In a 2019 interview, he described claims of an overwhelming influx as efforts to “create artificial crises.”

Similarly, in a 2020 Fox News town hall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanders opposed border closures, labeling them “xenophobic” and advocating for humane treatment of migrants. Like most on the left, Sanders has also argued in favor of de facto amnesty for millions of illegal aliens by providing pathways to citizenship, work permits and more.

Sanders further told Dillon that the United States possesses the “technology and manpower” to secure its southern border effectively, faulting successive administration for failing to enforce existing laws.

The backdrop to Sanders’ statements is the ongoing surge in migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, fiscal year 2023 saw approximately 2.47 million encounters, a sharp increase from about 458,000 in Trump’s final full year in office.

Millions of illegal aliens entering the country under the previous administration were then transported to the U.S. interior under DHS “catch and release” policies. For comparison, federal officials have announced that no illegal aliens have been released for multiple months since President Trump returned to the White House back in January.