Bernie Sanders: Hillary's hustling isolates her from reality

Sen. Bernie Sanders thinks Hillary Clinton’s wealth could “isolate” the presidential contender from the concerns of working-class voters.

In an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood, the independent Vermont senator who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, said that he does not begrudge the former secretary of state for earning money on speeches.


“When you hustle money like that, you don’t sit in restaurants like this,” he said. “You sit in restaurants where you’re spending—I don’t know what they spend—hundreds of dollars for dinner and so forth. That’s the world that you’re accustomed to, and that’s the world view that you adopt. You’re not worrying about a kid three blocks away from here whose mom can’t afford to feed him.”

But “that type of wealth has the potential to isolate you from the reality of the world,” Sanders added, mentioning a growing disconnect and anger at the establishment that he has noticed at gatherings in Austin, Las Vegas, Chicago and the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

“I think it’s hard not to acknowledge that Hillary Clinton is part of the establishment,” he said.

The self-described socialist from Vermont conceded that he is a “major underdog” in the race but said that he should not be underestimated.

“I think we’re going to do better than people think,” he said. “And I think we’ve got a shot to win this thing.”