On "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, Sanders said Donald Trump's supporters have a right to be angry but have wrongly embraced the Republican candidate's "false message." | AP Photo Sanders: Trump supporters ‘have a right be angry’

Bernie Sanders has slammed Donald Trump as “xenophobic” and “racist,” but the Vermont senator sympathizes — to a degree — with the billionaire businessman’s angry supporters.

“You have a right to be angry when we are the only major country on earth that doesn't provide paid family and medical leave, when we have more people living in poverty today than almost any other time in the history of this country,” Sanders told “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night.


Trump has embraced the notion that he’s angry with the way the country is being run, and Sanders conceded that many of the Republican presidential candidate's supporters are understandably responding to that part of his message. Many are working more hours for lower wages and question the America their kids will grow up in, he said.

“But I think what they have done is responded to Trump's false message, which suggests that if we keep Muslims out of this country or if we keep scapegoating Latinos or Mexicans, that somehow our country becomes better,” said Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. “I think that's a false solution.”

Voters can be angry, Sanders stressed, but they must also be pragmatic. “People have a right to be angry. But what we need to be is rational in figuring out how we address the problems and not simply scapegoating minorities,” he concluded.

Eliza Collins contributed to this report.