Sanders cites retiring lawmakers when asked which Republicans he could work with

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cited retiring Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) when asked Wednesday to name Republicans he could work with if elected president. 

“Well, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who’s recently retiring,” Sanders told co-host Meghan McCain on ABC’s “The View.” 

“Your dad is someone I worked with,” he continued, referring to the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). 

{mosads}McCain responded saying he was citing people who were either dead or retiring. 

“Look, even somebody like a George W. Bush who was a very conservative guy,” Sanders said. 

“OK, anyone in office that if you were president, who you would work with on the other side?” McCain said. 

“Lamar Alexander,” Sanders replied. “Lamar is head of the committee that I’m on, the Health, Education, and Labor Committee. Lamar is a conservative Republican. Lamar is not a liar. Lamar is not a sexist. Lamar is not a racist. He’s not a homophobe. He’s a conservative guy.” 

“So I worked with your dad, I worked with other people on issues where we can come together. That’s what I think American politics is supposed to be about,” he said.

Alexander will not seek a fourth term in the Senate, and Isakson is slated to step down from his post in at the end of this year. 

Sanders’s presidential campaign tweeted out the exchange shortly after, although the clip does not include his reference to Alexander.

.@MeghanMcCain: What Republicans can you work with?

Bernie: I worked well together with your dad and @SenatorIsakson 

Meghan: “But they’re dead”

Bernie: “Johnny is not dead” pic.twitter.com/BMeIj6m0pE

— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) September 4, 2019

Sanders collaborated with McCain on reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs after a 2014 scandal involving medical visit wait times and veteran deaths. In a follow-up tweet, Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir posted a clip of the late senator saying he was “one of the first to feel the Bern” after to their work on the measure.

John McCain: I will acknowledge that I “feel the bern” https://t.co/4pRDCIb28T https://t.co/UJaR9EeiRG

— Faiz (@fshakir) September 4, 2019

Sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist, is seen as one of the top leaders in the Democratic Party’s progressive movement, often going against the party’s establishment to push for policies like “Medicare for All” and tuition-free college.  

Republicans have taken aim at Sanders and other progressives, labeling them as socialists and looking to paint the rest of party as too far to the left. 

—Updated at 1:36 p.m.