Bernie Sanders gives Trump backhanded compliment when asked about Stephen Miller promotion

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, gave President Donald Trump a backhanded compliment when asked about Stephen Miller’s promotion to White House Chief of Staff. Following a crushing midterm election defeat Tuesday, Trump has already begun shaking up his administration, replacing Susie Wiles with her deputy, Miller, known as the architect of the president’s hardline immigration policy. Riding the blue tsunami that will give Democrats control of the House and Senate come January, Sanders spoke to NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Sunday’s Meet the Press about pushing his progressive platform of a $ 20-per-hour minimum wage and free healthcare for all. When Welker pivoted to Miller’s new -- highly controversial-- role and asked if he’s the “right person for the job,” Sanders mostly wanted to focus on the job Trump will do for the last two years of his presidency. But he did have some Miller thoughts. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont pushing a progressive agenda, has given President Donald Trump a backhanded compliment when asked about Stephen Miller’s promotion to White House Chief of Staff (AFP via Getty Images)“I've said this before, Kristen, Trump…I personally believe he is mentally unbalanced, erratic, but he's not stupid — and he's a good politician. And I think when Trump looks out in the world, and he sees millions of people working for starvation wages, he might not be unsympathetic to raising the minimum wage to a living wage,” Sanders said. Sanders also noted he isn’t “worried” about Miller. Trump’s mental and physical fitness has been under growing scrutiny during the 80-year-old’s second term. He spent all of last month hosting near-daily rallies in an unfruitful effort to drum up support for Republican candidates. He often rambled through speeches and went off on bizarre tangents, like when he repeatedly gushed over the butt of Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who later lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown. 'I personally believe he is mentally unbalanced, erratic, but he's not stupid — and he's a good politician,' Sanders said of Trump. 'And I think when Trump looks out in the world and he sees millions of people working for starvation wages he might not be unsympathetic to raising the minimum wage to a living wage' (AFP via Getty Images)Sanders, who is 85 years old himself, said Trump “would love, I think, to take credit for doing what every other major country does — guaranteeing health care to all people. So I'm not worried about Miller. Do I think we can work with Trump? Maybe. I'm by no means guaranteeing it, but it is certainly worth the effort.”After the GOP’s midterm shellacking, Trump told Fox News he could work with Democrats on “a lot of things. I mean, we can work with them on immigration.”But also made clear that he’s not afraid to use his veto power on bills he doesn’t like. “They’re in control, but they’re really not in control because they can send over 50 different great bills that they’re all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp — veto,” Trump said. Speaking on Miller's new appointment to White House chief of staff, Sanders said, 'I'm not worried about Miller. Do I think we can work with Trump? Maybe' (AFP via Getty Images)Thirty-nine percent of midterm voters said the economy was the top issue facing the country in The AP Voter Poll conducted by SSRS, followed by 33 percent who said the state of democracy and 14 percent who said immigration. Just 8 percent said the main issue was healthcare. Trump’s Iran war, which caused gas prices to surge, is considered a major factor in the GOP’s election losses. Despite being the face of the unpopular, eight-month-long conflict and telling his supporters to get out to vote as if he were on the ballot, Trump has deflected blame onto the Republican candidates he fought so hard to get elected. “I wasn’t on the ballot, and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he wrote on Truth Social on election night.