Second Chance? Bernie Sanders Won’t Rule Out 2020 White House Run

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who many believed was robbed of the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year and could have likely beaten Donald Trump on Tuesday, has left open the possibility of another bid in the 2020 election.

Sanders, 75, told the Associated Press that he is not ruling anything out, but that he does face re-election in the Senate in 2018.

"Four years is a long time from now," Sanders said. "We'll take one thing at a time, but I'm not ruling out anything."

The self-styled democratic socialist stated that working-class voters electing Trump is an “embarrassment” to the Democratic Party, and asserted that he intends to focus on helping them rebuild.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 10, 2016

"It is an embarrassment, I think, to the entire Democratic Party that millions of white working-class people decided to vote for Mr. Trump, which suggests that the Democratic message of standing up for working people no longer holds much sway among workers in this country," Sanders said.

While Sanders did not criticize Hillary Clinton directly, he blamed the loss on a “lack of enthusiasm” from Democrats, enthusiasm he inarguably harnessed during the primaries.

"People just did not come out to vote," he said.

The popular senator went on to say that the Democratic Party must stand up against Wall Street and corporate interests, to regain the trust of struggling workers.

"You cannot be a party which on one hand says we're in favor of working people, we're in favor of the needs of young people but we don't quite have the courage to take on Wall Street and the billionaire class. People do not believe that. You've got to decide which side you're on."

Sanders also stated that while he is hopeful to be able to work with the president-elect on issues important to working-class voters, he also thinks that Trump is “a fraud.”

"I hope I'm wrong, but I believe that he is a fraud, and I think despite all of his rhetoric about being a champion of the working class, it will turn out to be hollow," Sanders said of Trump.

In a previous statement, Sanders had stated that he will work with Trump, but that he will vigorously oppose any racist, sexist, xenophobic, or anti-environment policies from the president-elect’s administration.

“To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him,” the Vermont independent said in a statement.

“To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him,” Sanders added.

One area where they may work extremely well together will be on opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement that both candidates vehemently oppose.