114+ Best Bernie Sanders Quotes: Exclusive Selection

Bernard Sanders is an American politician who has served as the junior United States Senator from Vermont since 2007. The U.S. Representative for the state’s at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007, he is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history and a member of the Democratic caucus. Profoundly inspirational Bernie Sanders quotes will brighten up your day and make you feel ready to take on anything.

Famous Bernie Sanders Quotes

Finally, let us understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When black, white and Hispanic people stand together for justice, we win. Bernie Sanders

A nation will not survive morally or economically when so few have so much and so many have so little. Bernie Sanders

There is a lot of sentiment that enough is enough, that we need fundamental changes, that the establishment whether it is the economic establishment, the political establishment or the media establishment is failing the American people. Bernie Sanders

If the environment were a bank, it would have been saved by now. Bernie Sanders

We need a very progressive and strong agenda to bring people into the political process because I worry very much about the future of the American democracy where so many people are giving up. Bernie Sanders

For many, the American Dream has become a nightmare. Bernie Sanders

I am going to do my best to try to create a country in which children are not living in poverty, in which kids can go to college, in which old people have health care. Will I succeed? I can’t guarantee you that, but I can tell you that from a human point of view it is better to show up than to give up. Bernie Sanders

The problems we face did not come down from the heavens. They are made, they are made by bad human decisions, and good human decisions can change them. Bernie Sanders

I believe when we stand together when we share the vision that government should work for all of us, there is nothing we can’t accomplish. Bernie Sanders

It’s better to show up than to give up. Bernie Sanders

Don’t forget to also read our collection of deep Joe Biden quotes.

Candidates and supporters are working to make certain that the agenda of the most racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted president in history will go nowhere because Democrats will control the House and the Senate. Bernie Sanders

You can’t become a billionaire stepping over children sleeping on the street. Bernie Sanders

I happen to believe that we should move to a Medicare for all single payer system, similar to what other countries around the world have. Bernie Sanders.

A nation will not survive morally or economically when so few have so much and so many have so little. The great challenge we face is creating an economy that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class.

A job should lift workers out of poverty, not keep them in it. Bernie Sanders 

And if you want to beat Trump, what you’re going to need is an unprecedented grassroots movement of black and white and Latino, Native American and Asian, people who are standing up and fighting for justice. That’s what our movement is about. Bernie Sanders

If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. Bernie Sanders

 The problems we face, did not come down from the heavens. They are made, they are made by bad human decisions, and good human decisions can change them. Bernie Sanders

The greed of the billionaire class has got to end and we are going to end it for them. Bernie Sanders

What kind of nation are we when we give tax breaks to billionaires, but we can’t take care of the elderly and the children. Bernie Sanders

Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself, so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs. Bernie Sanders

You can have a different point of view on immigration or anything else, but we cannot be attacking people because of their religion. Bernie Sanders

Message to the billionaire class: You can’t have it all! Bernie Sanders

I am a socialist; of course I am a socialist. To hold a vision that society can be fundamentally different, to believe that all people can be equal  that is not a new idea. Bernie Sanders

Whether it is television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books or the Internet, a few giant conglomerates are determining what we see, hear and read. Bernie Sanders

If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll also love our collection of best Hillary Clinton quotes.

The point is change can come about, but it only comes about when millions of people are actively involved in political struggle, the billionaires may have the money, but we have the people. Bernie Sanders

Nobody who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. Bernie Sanders

The American people want to know that when they borrow a book from the library or buy a book, the government won’t be looking over their shoulder. Everybody wants to fight terrorism, but we have to do it in a way that protects American freedom.  Bernie Sanders

We can’t allow racism and xenophobia to gain traction. Bernie Sanders

We are living in a nation which worships wealth rather than caring for the poor. I don’t think that is the nation we should be living in. Bernie Sanders

The only way change happens is when people become more significantly involved in the political process. Bernie Sanders

Hillary Clinton backed out of an agreement debate with me before the June 7 primary, are you prepared to debate the major issues facing our largest state and the country before the California primary  yes or no? Bernie Sanders

People all over this country are shouting at each other. And what we need to do is bring people together to work on the agreement where there is broad consensus and that’s what I intend to do. Bernie Sanders

Democratic socialism means that we must reform a political system that is corrupt, that we must create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy. Bernie Sanders

The point is change can come about, but it only comes about when millions of people are actively involved in political struggle, the billionaires may have the money, but we have the people. Bernie Sanders

People in American jails are disproportionately people of color. That’s the reality in America today. That’s a reality that has to change. Bernie Sanders

If we are a free country, we have the right to be free. Bernie Sanders

What my campaign is about is a political revolution  millions of people standing up and saying, enough is enough. Our government belongs to all of us, and not just the hand full of billionaires. Bernie Sanders

An America where every person, no matter their race, their disability or their sexual orientation realizes the full promise of equality that is our birthright as Americans. Bernie Sanders

The major political task that together we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly. Bernie Sanders

Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America. Bernie Sanders

In my view, a corporation is not a person. A corporation does not have First Amendment rights to spend as much money as it wants, without disclosure, on a political campaign. Corporations should not be able to go into their treasuries and spend millions and millions of dollars on a campaign in order to buy elections. Bernie Sanders

The Occupy Wall Street protests are shining a national spotlight on the most powerful, dangerous and secretive economic and political force in America. Bernie Sanders

My campaign is powered by over a million small contributions from people like you who want to fight back. The truth is you can’t change a corrupt system by taking its money. Bernie Sanders

Republicans talk a good game about veterans, but when it came to put money on the line to protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. Bernie Sanders

Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs. Bernie Sanders

If you’re enjoying this article, you might also love our collection of the best Barack Obama quotes.

I think my main concern is because I worry about demagoguery. It’s real. You see the people standing up there and applauding. Bernie Sanders

And let me make the radical statement that I don’t believe that you can say something profound in the 140 characters that make up a tweet. Bernie Sanders

I don’t believe the government should take over, you know, the grocery store down the street or own the means of production. Bernie Sanders

An America where every person, no matter their race, their disability or their sexual orientation realizes the full promise of equality that is our birthright as Americans. Bernie Sanders

The American people want to know that when they borrow a book from the library or buy a book, the government won’t be looking over their shoulder.

Election days come and go. But the struggle of the people to create a government which represents all of us and not just the one percent – a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice  that struggle continues. Bernie Sanders

You can’t get huge tax breaks while children in this country go hungry. You can’t continue sending our jobs to China while millions are looking for work. You can’t hide your profits in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens, while there are massive unmet needs in every corner of this nation.

I think what the American people are saying is enough is enough. This country, this great country, belongs to all of us. It cannot continue to be controlled by a handful of billionaires who apparently want it all. Bernie Sanders

You can’t become a billionaire stepping over children sleeping on the street.

There is far too little discussion in Washington about the collapse of the middle class , almost no discussion at all about the incredible income inequality and wealth inequality in this country, and the fact that we’re moving toward an oligarch form of society. Bernie Sanders

When you are in trouble, well, we just can’t afford to help you if you are in the working class or middle class of this country.

My path to victory is to talk about the issues that impact the lives of millions of Americans. Bernie Sanders

The change begins when we say to the billionaire class, ‘You can’t have it all.

Now is the time to alter our government. Now is the time to stop the movement toward oligarchy. Now is the time to create a government which represents all Americans and not just the 1% No more excuses. We must all become involved in the political process. Bernie Sanders

Everybody wants to fight terrorism, but we have to do it in a way that protects American freedom.

We do not need a tough foreign policy, we need a smart foreign policy. Bernie Sanders

This campaign was never just about electing a president of the United States as enormously important as that was. This campaign was about transforming America.

Even the alternative weekly newspapers, traditionally a bastion of progressive thought and analysis, have been bought by a monopoly franchise and made a predictable shift to the right in their coverage of local news. Bernie Sanders

If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist.

Bernie Sanders is the only politician who, consistently for 50 years, has taken that social justice platform into politics.  Killer Mike

We are living in a nation which worships wealth rather than caring for the poor. I don’t think that is the nation we should be living in.

What Bernie Sanders is talking about, which is trying to get back to a more perfect democracy, is something that we support, too. We just think that the idea of wishing the rules were different and then pretending they were is something which, unfortunately, probably would be disastrous from the standpoint of energy and climate. Tom Steyer

It costs a hell of a lot more money to put somebody in jail than send them to the University of Virginia.

Bernie Sanders is a serious person with a lifetime of consistent campaigning on principle. Steve Hilton

Social Security, which transformed life for the elderly in this country, was socialist. The concept of minimum wage was seen as a radical intrusion into the marketplace and was described as socialist.

Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders want to raise taxes on the rich, saying it will solve inequality. It won’t. All that will do is significantly reduce incentives to work, save, and invest. But I say inequality is not the problem. The problem is a lack of growth. Lawrence Kudlow

The United States must join the rest of the industrialized world guarantee health care to all people as a right.

We don’t need to drive up the national debt by giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires. Bernie Sanders

Before Social Security existed, about half of America’s senior citizens lived in poverty.

My path to victory is to talk about the issues that impact the lives of millions of Americans. Bernie Sanders

Fossil fuel corporations are supposed to pay the government fair market royalties in exchange for the right to drill on public lands or in federal waters.

Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs. Bernie Sanders

They talk about class warfare the fact of the matter is there has been class warfare for the last thirty years. It’s a handful of billionaires taking on the entire middle class and working class of this country. And the result is you now have in America the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on Earth and the worst inequality in America since 1928. How could anybody defend the top 400 richest people in this country owning more wealth than the bottom half of America, 150 million people? Bernie Sanders

Private insurance companies in America are reaping huge profits.

CEOs of large corporations earn 400 times what their workers make. That is not what America is supposed to be about. Bernie Sanders

If we are going to reverse the race to the bottom, workers must have the right to engage in collective bargaining.

I have a lot of respect for President Obama. I consider him a friend. I disagree with him on issues like the extension of tax breaks that Bush initiated. But I think history will judge President Obama a lot better than many other contemporaries, given the fact that he came into office at a time when this country was in terrible, terrible shape. Bernie Sanders

The deficit crisis is real and must be addressed, but it cannot be solved on the backs of the weak and vulnerable.

It’s time to make our government work for all of us and not just the 1%.Bernie Sanders

There must be a major economic recovery package which puts Americans to work at decent wages.

I very strongly disagreed with President Clinton on the deregulation of Wall Street. I strenuously opposed that. Bernie Sanders

There is nobody that I know who believes that the Bank of America is a human being who should be entitled for the same constitutional rights that the people of our country are.

The Postal Service is a vitally important institution for the American people. It must be saved. Bernie Sanders

Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit.

Where America has got to move is not growth for the sake of growth, but it`s got to move to a society that provides a high quality of life for all of our people. In other words, if people have health care as a right, as do the people of every other major country, then there’s less worry about growth. If people have educational opportunities and their kids can go to college and they have child care, then there’s less worry about growth for the sake of growth. Bernie Sanders

It is incomprehensible that drug companies still get away with charging Americans twice as much, or more, than citizens of Canada or Europe for the exact same drugs manufactured by the exact same companies.

Nobody who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. Bernie Sanders

It’s about creating a situation where we are involving millions of people in the process who are not now involved, and changing the nature of media so they are talking about issues that reflect the needs and the pains that so many of our people are currently feeling.

The American people want to know that when they borrow a book from the library or buy a book, the government won’t be looking over their shoulder. Everybody wants to fight terrorism, but we have to do it in a way that protects American freedom. Bernie Sanders

Washington is dominated by big money.

Wall Street has enormous power over the Republican Party, enormous power over the Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders

These are the same people who believe, in some cases, the federal government should not play any role in providing health care to our people or protecting the environment.

I would like to see somebody who speaks for the underdog, for the people who don’t have this in healthcare benefits. So I would like to see a candidate who has the guts to oppose the idea that America could be a land for all people, not just the land control by the super rich. Bernie Sanders

You know, I think many people have the mistaken impression that Congress regulates Wall Street. In truth that’s not the case. The real truth is that Wall Street regulates the Congress.

I believe strongly that we can protect our people without undermining our constitutional rights and I worry very, very much about the huge attacks on privacy that we have seen in recent years  both from the government and the private sector. I worry that we are moving toward an Orwellian society, and this is something I will oppose as vigorously as I can. Bernie Sanders

In my view, a corporation is not a person. A corporation does not have First Amendment rights to spend as much money as it wants, without disclosure, on a political campaign.

I have been in the Democratic Caucus in the Senate for over 24 years. Bernie Sanders

Democracy, it seemed, was good for one’s health.

When we talk about the healthcare crisis in America we’ve got to also be . I fear very much for our kids, for low income people and for seniors. Bernie Sanders

We need to change the power structure in America. We need to end the political oligarchy.

I think we need to take on the greed of the billionaire class, a disastrous campaign finance system. Bernie Sanders

Democratic socialism means that in a democratic, civilized society, the wealthiest people and the largest corporations must pay their fair share of taxes.

As an independent, my views, in fact, are a little bit different than many of my Democratic colleagues. Bernie Sanders

Any objective observer will conclude that based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States.

I have spent the better part of my adult life standing up and fighting for working families. Bernie Sanders

The Federal Reserve has the responsibility to protect the credit rights of consumers.

You know, I think many people have the mistaken impression that Congress regulates Wall Street. In truth that’s not the case. The real truth is that Wall Street regulates the Congress. Bernie Sanders

What the American people want to see in their president is somebody who not necessarily can win every fight, but they want to see him stand up and fight for what he believes, and take his case to the American people.