Getty Bernie Sanders says the pope's agenda is just like his

Bernie Sanders drew parallels on Wednesday between his campaign messages on income inequality and environmental protection and those of Pope Francis.

"It is almost as if he is hashtag #FeelingTheBern because of many of those themes resonate with your campaign," CNN's Chris Cuomo observed during an interview with the independent Vermont senator and Democratic candidate on the South Lawn of the White House as a crowd of thousands awaited the pope's speech.


"He is reaching out not just to the Catholic Church. He's reaching out to people all over the world, and with an incredibly strong message of social justice, of talking about the grotesque levels of wealth and income inequality that exist all over the world. The dispossessed, the elderly people who are living alone, the young people who can't find jobs. And he is saying as a planet, as a people, we have got to do better," Cuomo said. "That money, the accumulation of money and the worship of money is not what life should be about, that we should not turn our backs on our fellow human beings."

It's not surprising that the pope is speaking out on these issues, Sanders said, "because he has a very, very progressive agenda."

"He is looking in the eyes of the wealthiest people in this country who make billions of dollars. And he is saying, you know what? You cannot continue to ignore the needs of the poor. You cannot continue to ignore the needs of the sick," the senator continued, remarking that his economic message is one that "many of our Republican colleagues do not want to hear."

"He doesn't have to do this thing, right? He could play it a lot easier. But he is saying the planet is at stake, fossil fuel is contributing significantly to climate change. We have got to address it," Sanders said. "That's what I admire about him, his audacity and his courage."

The pope used his address at the White House to speak out in favor of immigration rights and policies addressing climate change.

"As the son of an immigrant, I'm happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families," the pope said at the beginning of his remarks.

"Climate change can no longer be left to a future generation," he said later.