Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a town hall meeting at Nashua Community College in Nashua, N.H., in June. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s looking forward to his turn on Stephen Colbert’s new show and plans to have a good time.
“I love Stephen Colbert,” said the independent senator from Vermont, who has been booked for Sept. 18.
Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, joins a growing cast of politicians scheduled to appear on “The Late Show” on CBS as Colbert takes over hosting duties starting Tuesday.
Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush will be on the inaugural episode, and Vice President Joe Biden, who is mulling a White House run, is booked on Thursday.
“I’m sure that Colbert will have a large viewing audience, and I think it’s a good thing to be seen by people outside of the normal political context,” Sanders said in an interview.
The senator, who turns 74 on Tuesday, appeared several times on Colbert’s Comedy Central show, “The Colbert Report,” including last November, as Sanders was mulling a presidential bid.
On that episode, Colbert made light of Sanders’s status as a self-described Democratic socialist.
“Do you frighten people when you walk around the Capitol?” Colbert asked. “Are they afraid you’re going to take their tractor and given it to the whole village?”
“Hopefully, hopefully, we frighten the billionaire class,” Sanders replied.
Later, Sanders highlighted Denmark as a country that guarantees health care and offers free college tuition, goals he has for the United States.
Colbert noted that Denmark has a population of only about 5.5 million people.
“I have more than that on my Twitter feed,” Colbert said.
John Wagner is a political reporter covering the race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
81
Comments
