Bernie Sanders introducing the then-presumptive Democratic US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 12, 2016. (Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — US Senator Bernie Sanders sidestepped criticism from Hillary Clinton that he paved the way to Donald Trump’s victory with his attacks against her in the Democratic primary.
Sanders, an Independent lawmaker from Vermont, said he preferred to focus on countering the Trump agenda.
“My response is that right now it’s appropriate to look forward and not backward,” Sanders told The Hill, a Capitol Hill daily and website, on Wednesday. “I’m working overtime now to see we overturn Trump’s decision on DACA, pass a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and next week I’ll be offering a Medicare-for-all single-payer system.”
DACA refers to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era policy that protects illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States as children. Trump earlier this week gave six months notice to the program, but also said he would consider congressional legislation to replicate it.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks in Baltimore, June 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
In excerpts from Clinton’s forthcoming book “What Happened,” the former secretary of state wrote that the primary season attacks by Sanders caused “lasting damage” and were instrumental in “paving the way for Trump’s Crooked Hillary campaign.” Sanders campaigned for Clinton in the general election, which Clinton said she appreciated.
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She also praised Sanders in the book for engaging “a lot of young people in the political process for the first time, which is extremely important.”
Sanders was the first Jewish candidate to win major party nominating contests.
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