Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had two thoughts about President Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden after previously saying he would not, while talking to NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ host Kristen Welker on Sunday.
‘When you have his opponents going after his family as a father, as a parent, I think we can all understand Biden trying to protect his, his son and his family,’ Sanders said. ‘On the other hand, I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one. It was a very wide open pardon, which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents.’
Despite that, Sanders believes that Biden leaves a ‘strong legacy’ due to being progressive on domestic policies. He also said that ‘the economy today in many ways is in very strong shape.’
Sanders even went as far as to say Biden was the most progressive president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Discussing the minimum wage, Sanders told Welker he would work with President-elect Trump to raise it, as it has stood at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
Welker said Trump acknowledged it was too low, but Sanders said the last time he tried to get it raised to $15 an hour was two years ago and no Republicans voted for it.
‘Look, a $7.25 per hour minimum wage is an absolute disgrace,’ Sanders said. ‘We have millions of people in this country who are working for starvation wages. They cannot afford housing, that cannot afford to adequately feed their kids.’
Sanders now believes the minimum wage should be $17 an hour, and hopes lawmakers ‘can work in a bipartisan way to finally accomplish that goal.’