MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS: You’ve praised the Chinese Communist Party for lifting more people out of extreme poverty than any other country. You also have a track record of expressing sympathy for socialist governments in Cuba and in Nicaragua. Can Americans trust that a democratic socialist president will not give authoritarians a free pass?

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS: I have opposed authoritarianism all over the world and I was really amazed at what Mayor Bloomberg just said a moment ago. He said that the Chinese government is responsive to the Politburo, but who the hell is the Politburo responsive to? Who elects the Politburo? You’ve got a real dictatorship there? Of course you have a dictatorship in Cuba. What I said is what Barack Obama said in terms of Cuba, that Cuba made progress on education. Yes, I think —

(BOOING)

SANDERS: Really? Really? Literacy programs are bad?

FORMER SOUTH BEND, IND. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG: Yes, because there’s no comparing those two [countries].

SANDERS: What Barack Obama said is they made great progress on education and health care. That was Barack Obama. Occasionally —

BIDEN: I talked to Barack Obama —

SANDERS: Excuse me, occasionally it might be a good idea to be honest about American foreign policy, and that includes the fact that America has overthrown governments all over the world in Chile, in Guatemala, in Iran. And when dictatorships, whether it is the Chinese or the Cubans do something good, you acknowledge that. But you don’t have to trade love letters with them.