Moulton: Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump in 2020

Moulton: Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump in 2020
© Greg Nash

Rep. Seth MoultonSeth Wilbur MoultonMoulton: Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump in 2020 Overnight Defense: Trump tells NRA he will pull US from arms treaty | Pentagon to broaden role of troops at border | Warren offers plan to improve military housing Presenting the 2020 Democratic bracket MORE (D-Mass.), who announced his presidential campaign this week, went after fellow 2020 contenders Sens. Bernie SandersBernard (Bernie) SandersBiden campaign says it will not accept support from super PACs Moulton: Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump in 2020 Chasten Buttigieg emerges as Mayor Pete's secret weapon MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenBiden campaign says it will not accept support from super PACs Schiff: Only way to deal with Trump is to 'vote his ass out of office' Moulton: Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump in 2020 MORE (D-Mass.), saying the progressive lawmakers were too liberal to beat President TrumpDonald John TrumpPrevention is a critical tool in the fight against addiction USMCA is a needed reprieve from Trump-induced uncertainty Sam Donaldson slams Sarah Sanders: She's had 'a lifetime achievement Oscar for lying' MORE

The long-shot candidate cautioned that Democrats may underestimate Trump’s appeal in the nation’s heartland where many voters are frustrated with Washington politics.

“We can’t go too far left or we will lose middle America,” Moulton told Reuters in an interview during a campaign tour of California.

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Moulton, a self-proclaimed moderate, told the outlet that Warren's and Sanders's message would make it difficult to win Congress and “take back the White House” in the next election cycle.

Moulton said he agreed with the two senators' idea that wealthy Americans should pay higher taxes, but denounced Sanders and Warren for endorsing policies that he said intend to “punish the rich.”

Both Sanders and Warren have put economic issues at the center of their campaigns, railing against gains made by Wall Street and the top-earning Americans as evidence that the economy is stacked against the working class.

Moulton called such rhetoric and related policies, including Warren’s plan to tax America’s 75,000 richest families to pay for social programs, as “divisive.” 

Moulton focused much of his fire on Sanders, slamming the Vermont senator who has emerged as an early frontrunner in the primary field. 

“Bernie wants to change us into a socialist country, and we’re not a socialist country,” he said.

“That’s not what America is all about. I don’t think that a socialist nominee is going to win the presidency. I’m a Democrat, I’m not a socialist … He’s a socialist, not a Democrat.”

Sanders’s campaign told Reuters that the senator is yielding strong poll figures and fundraising numbers because he is a “champion for working people.”

“Senator Sanders has a long and well-known record leading the effort to create a government that works for all Americans,” Sanders spokeswoman Sarah Ford told Reuters in an email.

Warren’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill or Reuters.

Moulton's comments come as the Democratic Party grapples with whether it should throw its support behind a moderate candidate who can win disaffected Republicans and independents or a progressive who can excite the base.