Bernie Sanders: Harris abandons left-wing extremist politics “to win the election”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) responded candidly when asked about Vice President Kamala Harris's backtracking on several of her progressive policy positions less than two months before the November election.

“She used to support Medicare-For-All, now she doesn't. She used to support a ban on fracking, now she doesn't. Those, Senator, are ideas you championed on the campaign trail. Do you think she's abandoning her progressive ideals?” NBC host Kristen Welker asked Sanders on “Meet the Press.”

“No, I don't think she's giving up her ideals,” he replied. “I think she's trying to be pragmatic and do what she thinks is right to win the election.”

Harris changes key positions on border and illegal immigration as campaign promises ‘hands-on’ approach

Since emerging as the Democratic candidate, Harris has distanced herself from her previous extreme left-wing immigration, energy and health care policies.

When Harris was asked to defend her changing policy positions during her first interview as a candidate in August, she said her “values ​​have not changed.”

“I think the most important and meaningful aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is that my values ​​have not changed,” Harris told CNN's Dana Bash. “You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed and worked to uphold that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent issue to which we should apply standards that include sticking to deadlines. We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act.”

“We have set targets for the United States of America and, by extension, for the world as to when we should achieve certain standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Harris continued.

“That value has not changed. My value in terms of what we need to do to secure our border, that value has not changed. I served two terms as Attorney General of California, prosecuting transnational criminal organizations that violated American laws regarding the illegal passage of guns, drugs and people across our border. My values ​​have not changed,” she said.

On NBC, Sanders said his views were “slightly different” from Harris's, but he still considered her a “progressive” with similar goals.

49 DAYS: Kamala Harris has not yet held an official press conference since her nomination as the Democratic candidate

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

“She takes a different approach to implementing universal health insurance,” Sanders said of Harris' withdrawal from the Medicare For All program.

“But I think it's issues like expanding Medicare, expanding Social Security, raising the income cap set by the rich so we can increase Social Security benefits. The need to raise the minimum wage from a starvation wage of $7.25 to a living wage. I think if you campaign on these issues and raise questions about billionaires, guess what? She's going to win, and I think she can win big,” he continued.

Sanders reiterated that he considers Harris a “progressive” before listing policies he also supports.

“Look, she and I — she's not where I am, but I think when she talks about, for example, making the child tax credit permanent, and you know, we did that in the American Rescue Plan. We reduced child poverty by 40%. Kristen, we shouldn't have one of the highest child poverty rates as the richest country in the world. When she talks about 3 million affordable housing units, that's a big deal because we have a major housing crisis in America. When she talks about passing the PRO Act to make it easier for workers to join unions, that's a big deal because we need to grow the union movement so workers can get livable wages. So yeah, her views are not mine, but I consider her a progressive,” he added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris team for comment.

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Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, disembark their campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia, on August 28, 2024, from where they will travel through Georgia on a two-day campaign bus tour. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

A campaign spokesperson had previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that Harris had changed several of her key policy positions and was taking a “pragmatic” approach to “bringing all sides together.”

“While Donald Trump remains committed to the extreme ideas of his Project 2025 agenda, Vice President Harris believes that real leadership means bringing all sides together to build consensus,” spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement. “This approach has enabled the Biden-Harris administration to achieve bipartisan breakthroughs on everything from infrastructure to gun violence prevention. As president, she will take the same pragmatic approach, focusing on common-sense solutions in the interest of progress.”

A Harris campaign adviser told Fox that her positions were “shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration.”

Harris and former President Trump will meet on Tuesday in a debate hosted by ABC News.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.