Bernie Sanders Fires Back at Senate Dem Elissa Slotkin for Attacking His Economic Rhetoric: Americans are ‘Not Quite as Dumb’ as She Thinks

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is firing back at a Senate Democrat who accused him of talking over peoples’ heads on the economy.

In an interview on Meet the Press Sunday, Sanders was asked by moderator Kristen Welker about critical comments from Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)

“She said Democrats should stop using the term “oligarchy” because it’s a phrase that doesn’t resonate with all Americans,” Welker said. “Are you missing a chance to speak to a wider audience, Senator?

Sanders took great exception to the Michigan Democrat’s attack — citing the highly-attended rallies he has held of late with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

“Well, jeez, we had 36,000 people out in Los Angeles, 34,000 people in Colorado,” Sanders said. “We had 30,000 people in Folsom, California, which is kind of a rural area.”

The Vermont senator then went after Slotkin.

“I think the American people are not quite as dumb as Ms. Slotkin thinks they are,” Sanders said. “I think they understand very well, when the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 90%, when big money interests are able to control both political parties, they are living in an oligarchy. And these are precisely the issues that have got to be talked about.”

Sanders went on to call out broader Democratic messaging on the economy.

“The very rich [are] getting richer, working-class people are struggling, 800,000 people sleeping out on the streets,” Sanders said. “If we don’t address that issue, the American people will continue to turn their backs on democracy because they’re looking around and they’re saying, ‘Does anybody understand what I am going through?’ And unfortunately, right now, to a large degree, neither party does.”

Watch above, via NBC.