CNN "Anderson Cooper 360" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders

Interview

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COOPER: Yes. Jessica Schneider, thanks very much.

Joining us now to talk about this, campaign fundraising, his opponents, and the latest moves he's making to combat climate change, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, joins me now.

Senator Sanders, I want to talk about climate change in just a moment, and the latest thing that you are doing, essentially calling for a national emergency. But, first of all, what is your reaction to this setback for the Justice Department and the administration in the census case? Why do you think they really want this question on a census about citizenship?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Anderson, I don't think anybody who has any doubts as to why they want that question. It's to undercount of Latinos so that they can create congressional districts which will not be Democratic, and also make sure that the funding does not go to those under served and often minority communities. I think everyone understands that is their rational and it's based on a very bigoted sense of what has to be done in this country.

COOPER: Today, the president said that he feels very badly for Labor Secretary Acosta. That he's worked hard, he's done a good job. Acosta is obviously now under fire for the plea agreement that he made with Jeffrey Epstein years ago in a case in Florida. Epstein was charged yesterday with having allegedly operate a sex trafficking ring involving dozens of underage girls. Should Acosta resign?

[20:05:04] SANDERS: Yes, he should. He should reside because he was part of a process that really exposes the two tier criminal justice system in America. It's not just Jeff Epstein. It's the crux on Wall Street who destroyed our economy, who paid billions of dollars in fines to the federal government but not one of these people ended up in jail.

Look, the reality of American criminal justice is that if you are poor, if you are a person of color, you get treated in one way. If you are rich and if you can hire all kinds of lawyers and you have friends in high places, you get treated in another way.

And our job is, in fact, to do, to create a criminal justice system which theoretically the Founders of this country wanted. And that is equal justice for all, rich or poor, black or white.

COOPER: I was reading your tweets. You're calling for a national mobilization akin to what the U.S. did after Pearl Harbor. Only this time, the national emergency you're citing is climate change. What is that -- what is the national mobilization on climate change look like in your hopes?

SANDERS: Look, what it looks like is that if we are going to save this planet and if we are going to respond to what the scientists are telling us, and that is that we have less than 12 years before they will be irreparable damage done to this country. And that means more drought, more floods, more acidification of the ocean, more rising sea levels, more mass migrations of people, that unless we stand up by the millions to the greed of the fossil fuel industry who are making billions of dollars every single year as they destroy this planet, what we have got to do is mobilize millions of people and say, you know what? Your short term profits are not more important than the long term health of this planet. We have got to create and leave are kids on her grandchildren a planet that is healthy and habitable.

But, by the way Anderson, you know, it's not just the fossil fuel industry. What we see all across the economy, whether it is Wall Street, whether it's the insurance companies, the drug companies who are charging us by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, the insurance companies who will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent us moving to a Medicare-for-All system, what you are seeing is a corporate elite, whose greed is really destroying the middle class and working class of this country. And that is what we have to stand for. Climate change is an integral part of that struggle, but it's not just climate change.

COOPER: You introduced a resolution on this with Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez. It is not likely to get passed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Is that just, I mean, really a symbolic effort at this point?

SANDERS: No, it's not-- and Representative Blumenauer of Oregon was involved in it was well. It will I hope pass the House and, I think we got to put pressure on the Senate.

Look, this is what the issue is. Is the future of this planet more important than the short term profits of the fossil fuel industry? Do we tolerate this where we have a president, who is ignoring science, who thinks that climate change is a hoax?

We are fighting for future generations to live a healthy and habitable planet. And the only way I know that real change ever takes place, whether it's economically, whether it is racially, whether it's environmentally, is when millions of people are prepared to stand up and fight back and in this case, take on the greed and the lies of the fossil fuel industry.

Anderson, you know, what I and reminded of when I talk about the fossil fuel industry, is exactly what went on 40 years ago or so with the tobacco industry. You recalled they lied and they lied smoking cigarettes, it's not a health problem, it's fine, doctors on TV ads, smoking is fine, they lied. And millions of people died, including my father as a matter of fact who smoked two packs a day, died as a result of their lies.

And the fossil fuel industry is lying right now. The debate is over. Climate change is man-made. It is causing devastating problems. We have got to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels, energy efficiency, and sustainable energy.

COOPER: As you know, Eric Swalwell has dropped out of the race. Tom Steyer declared his candidacy for president today. Is he the future of the Democratic Party?

SANDERS: Well, I surely hope not. I know Tom. And Tom is a decent guy. He has done a lot of good things. He's been concerned about the environment. He's put money into voter registration, all of which I think are positive things.

But I think, Anderson, that the American people are sick and tired of seeing the political power of billionaires, whether they are Democrats or whether they are Republicans.

[20:10:02] I am very proud that in our campaign, we have up to this point received some 2 million individual contributions of which I think is some kind of world record. I may be wrong on that but I don't think anyone ever done that at this stage of the campaign, average $19 apiece.

The American people are tired of billionaires making huge campaign contributions.

COOPER: Yes.

SANDERS: And, you know, that's my sense of Tom.

COOPER: Just finally, Senator, talk about campaign contributions, Senator Elizabeth Warren's second quarter fund-raising numbers I think eclipsed yours. She raised $19 million, you raised $18 million. You are now neck and neck at the CNN post-debate poll. She's improved her polling compared to the same poll a month earlier.

What are her gains tell you? And where do you see this race right now? How do you feel about it?

SANDERS: Well, we have received, if I'm not mistaken, and I'm sure I'm not, we have received more individual contributions than Senator Warren. They are a smaller amount. I think she was 26 bucks, and I believe we are $18 or $19.

I'm feeling very good. Look, this is a very different situation, political situation than last time around when there were two major candidates. This time, there are 23 candidates. My guess is at, the end of the day, the candidate who gets 25 percent to 30 percent will actually win the state by state.

We have very strong grassroots organization. We have over a million volunteers and strong organizations in Iowa, in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and Nevada, California. So, we are feeling pretty good about where we are right now and we think we stand an excellent chance not only to win the Democratic nomination but to defeat the most dangerous president in modern American history.

COOPER: Just one final thing. I'm about to interview Megan Rapinoe from the U.S. Soccer Team just won the World Cup. Do you think that they should get equal pay?

SANDERS: First of all, my congratulations for them for their just beautiful effort. And, of course, they should get equal pay.

COOPER: Senator Bernie Sanders, we appreciate your time. Thank you.

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