Former President Jimmy Carter seems to be a fan of Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The two spoke together Monday evening at a Carter Center discussion about politics, human rights and working towards global peace.
Speaking in a familiar refrain, Sanders bemoaned the United States’ relatively low voter turnout rates and said it was a boon for conservative politicians.
“Can y’all see why I voted for him?” Carter said as Sanders concluded.
Carter’s comments, which received light laughter at the event, were apparently the first time he revealed his 2016 Democratic primary choice in public.
The two spoke at length about their worries about the current direction of the country and human rights across the globe, seeming in agreement on a range of major issues.
Early on in the race for the Democratic nomination, Carter said he believed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton would get the nomination “because money dominates, and she has an inside track to the massive amounts that are going to pour into the Democratic Party side.”
Political observers have noted for decades the tension between Carter and the Clintons.
Carter said closer to the general election that he intended to vote for the eventual Democratic nominee, and said again he believed Clinton would win, while noting Sanders’ support among young voters. At the time, he also said he’d rather vote for then-candidate Donald Trump over Sen. Ted Cruz.
Like Sanders, Carter has long railed against the influence of money in politics. He said in 2015 that the US was essentially no longer democratic in nature.
“Now it’s just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery,” Carter said.
