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Bernie Sanders: Embracing ‘New York Values’ And Maybe ‘Christian Values’

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 04:59 PST, Apr 14, 2016

After Ted Cruz famously made the mistake of trying to insult Donald Trump by saying he lives a life that reflects “New York values,” garnering any support in the Empire State has proven difficult for the Canadian-born presidential hopeful. As the candidates gear up for the upcoming debates and primaries, they are all making key stops around NYC, one of the media capitals of the Western world.

Sanders was introduced for a bit in which he explained why he embraces New York values. When he returned for a one-on-one interview, Larry Wilmore began comparing Bernie Sanders to another famous Jew: Jesus Christ.

New York values

Before sitting down with Senator Sanders for a one-on-one interview on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show, host Larry Wilmore (who has only lived in New York for a little over a year) wanted to bring out a native New Yorker to talk about what it means to truly embrace “New York values.” Of course, this meant that Senator Sanders was about to be introduced, and he was prepared with a three-minute monologue on New York values and the 2016 presidential election.

“That’s right, it’s me: Bernie ‘Brooklyn-born’ Sanders. And guess what, Ted Cruz — I have New York values. I value a living wage for all Americans. I value a justice system that treats everyone fairly. I value a government that works for all of us, not just Wall Street and powerful special interests. Those are ‘New York values.'”

Of course, the New York crowd at The Nightly Show ate up every word. But the mic he was holding wouldn’t be dropped until Sanders got in a few more words.

“When you say having New York values is a bad thing, you insult my city, my state, my culture and my heritage. I am the son of an immigrant, and I am proud of it.”

But Sanders actually thinks Cruz was wrong about Donald Trump. According to Bernie, Donald doesn’t embrace true New York values at all.

“Mr. Trump, you wouldn’t know ‘New York values’ if they were written in 50-foot gold letters on the side of the Empire State Building. New York values are the Statue of Liberty, not a wall between us and Mexico.”

After naming several admirable qualities exemplified by the citizens of New York, the self-proclaimed democratic-socialist closed his monologue with some powerful words.

“The truth is, New York values are American values. There is no difference.”

He (literally) dropped the mic after that, and The Nightly Show went to commercial.

Christian values

Before being compared to the Christian savior of Jewish descent, Sanders was grilled by Wilmore on some very serious matters. Noting the huge lead that Hillary has — and the confusing rules about superdelegates — Sanders affirmed that he can still win the nomination and that he still believes he will. Sanders thinks that many of the superdelegates will ultimately support him, since he’s a better opponent against Trump than Hillary Clinton would be.

But eventually, Wilmore got to a rather tongue-in-cheek comparison that he wanted to make between Bernie Sanders and an ex-carpenter from Jerusalem.

“Bernie, I understand that you used to be a carpenter. Is that right?” Clearly unaware of where the comedian was going with this line of questioning, Sanders answered in the affirmative.

“And you’re Jewish,” Larry continued, “and uh…” At this point, Sanders sat up and laughed.

“I get where you’re going!” he exclaimed.

“And the Pope loves you,” Wilmore went on. “Millions of people come to hear you speak your ‘sermons’ on ‘mounts.’ Are you Jesus?”

While Sanders did not claim to be the Son of God, he did say he was looking forward to his meeting with the Pope and talking with him about social and economic justice.

Where to watch

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are set for another debate. The April 14 Democratic debate will air on CNN and CNN.com at 9/8c. The New York presidential primaries are on Tuesday, April 19.

Re-runs of Wednesday night’s episode of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore featuring Bernie Sanders can be streamed on-demand through ComedyCentral.com or with a Hulu Plus subscription.

[Image via Paul Zimmerman / Getty Images]

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