Bernie Sanders pushes back against Elissa Slotkin’s criticism of using the term ‘oligarchy’

Updated at 5:45 p.m.

The disagreement on how to effectively oppose President Donald Trump’s policies came into the open over the weekend in remarks by Vermont’s U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, in regard to comments by Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

Speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Sanders was asked about Slotkin’s suggestion in an interview with Politico that Democrats needed to fight back against the perception that they are “weak and woke” and stop using the term “oligarchy” when criticizing Trump and his allies, such as billionaire Elon Musk, and instead say they are opposed to “kings.”

“Well, jeez, we had 36,000 people out in Los Angeles, 34,000 people in Colorado. We had 30,000 people in Folsom, California, which is kind of a rural area,” Sanders said, referencing recent “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies he and fellow progressive, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), has hosted in opposition to Trump administration policies.

“I think the American people are not quite as dumb as Ms. Slotkin thinks they are,” Sanders said.

A request for comment was made by the Michigan Advance to Slotkin’s office, which pointed to a post made on social media.

“The debate right now is not ‘moderate vs. progressive’ — it’s between those who think we need to fight, and those who think we can just wait this Administration out. I believe our economy & our democracy is at risk, we need to dig in and give the American People a new vision,” Slotkin said.

Slotkin, who won her Senate seat in 2024 by less than 20,000 votes out of more than 5 million cast, has made her political career out of winning tight races in districts and states that otherwise supported Trump.

Her rising star in the party was exemplified by Slotkin’s selection to give the Democratic response to Trump’s address to Congress in March. 

However, in his “Meet the Press” interview, Sanders, who drew an estimated 10,000 supporters in early March to Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, said an acknowledgment was necessary about the nature of the forces championing policies that have deepened the nation’s economic inequality.   

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

Slotkin, posting on the social media platform X on Friday, said Democrats needed more than rhetoric if they hope to win against Republicans.

“After this 100 days of the Trump Administration, we owe the nation a plan: reclaiming our patriotism, a real economic plan for the Middle Class, and a fight for our democracy that recognizes the stakes,” Slotkin wrote.

This story was updated with a response from Slotkin’s office.