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US Senator Bernie Sanders seeks second presidential bid, calls Trump 'embarrassment'

This photo taken on July 09, 2018 shows Senator Bernie Sanders speaking during a news conference at the US Capitol on July 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

US Senator Bernie Sanders has announced he will run again for president in the 2020 elections, calling President Donald Trump a "pathological liar" and an “embarrassment” to America.

Sanders, 77, made the announcement on Tuesday in an interview with a radio station from his home state of Vermont.

“I think the current occupant of the White House is an embarrassment to our country,” he told Vermont Public Radio.

“I think he is a pathological liar. Every day he is telling one lie or another, and it gives me no pleasure to say that. I also think he is a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants.”

In the interview, the self-described Democratic socialist outlined his policies and how he will launch the election campaign. "Our campaign is about taking on the powerful special interests that dominate our economic and political life."

He also highlighted policies he will advocate on the campaign trail: Healthcare for all, raising the minimum wage to a "living wage," and combating climate change.

Sanders pointed out that he was also opposed to Wall Street greed, the military-industrial complex and health insurance companies, among others, whom he said needed to be all changed by "political revolution."

"What I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of -- a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings -- that's what I'm going to carry all over this country," he said.

"All of these policies and more are now supported by a majority of Americans. Together you and I and our 2016 campaign began the political revolution. Now it is time to complete that revolution and implement the vision that we fought for," he said.

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2016, losing out to Hillary Clinton, who in turn was defeated by Trump.

Sanders mounted a fierce challenge to Clinton as he spoke to swelling crowds and garnered passionate support on social media. His 2016 campaign also rejected the use of corporate money and instead relied on small-dollar donations.

His call for universal health care, a $15 minimum wage and free public university education has gained huge strong support among young liberals.

A former mayor of Burlington, Vermont, Sanders won a US House of Representatives seat in 1990, making him the first independent elected to the House in 40 years. In 2006, he won a US Senate seat and in 2018 was voted in for a third six-year term.

Sanders has been a relentless critic of Trump, and has called him “the most dangerous president in modern American history.”

“We are running against a president who is undermining American democracy as he leads us in an authoritarian direction,” Sanders said in an email to Reuters.


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