Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has little patience for speculation about who will eventually inherit the political movement he helped build.

In a wide-ranging Politico profile published Sunday by Will Steakin, Sanders pushed back when asked which younger progressive might eventually take the torch. According to Steakin, questioning the Vermont senator on the topic “becomes an exercise in watching a man swat away question after question.”

“That is precisely the wrong question,” Sanders shot back, accusing the Politico journalist of “sounding like an inside-the-Beltway media pundit.”

Instead, Sanders said the “right question” was how many strong figures the progressive movement had already produced, pointing to Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

“The media is focused on personality,” Sanders complained to Steakin. “‘Oh my God, what will Alexandria do? Is she going to run for president? Run for the Senate? Stay in the House? Let’s talk about that for 14 years.’ How often do we talk about the fact that we’re the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all people?”

While Ocasio-Cortez said in May that her “ambition is way bigger” than the Oval Office, she’s also made clear that a 2028 presidential bid isn’t off the table.

Sanders was similarly tight-lipped when pressed on her potential plans.

“Do I talk to Alexandria? Yes, I do. Am I going to tell you what we talk about? Of course I won’t,” he told Politico. Asked directly if he wanted her to mount a campaign, Sanders responded, “No comment. That’s her decision.”

His remarks about a potential successor come after a number of fellow socialists have won Democratic primaries recently and as his pal Zohran Mamdani (D) is in his first year as mayor of New York City.

Sanders also emphasized that another White House run of his own is not in the cards, joking about his age as he prepares to turn 85.

“Well, I am 40 years of age now,” he deadpanned, “and I think having reached the golden age of 40, it’s hard, you know. So yeah, I think it’s unlikely that I will become president of the United States.”

The post Bernie Sanders Scoffs at Search for His Successor: ‘Precisely the Wrong Question’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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