US Senator Bernie Sanders is prepared to work with President-elect Donald Trump to improve the lives of working families, but will vigourously oppose his racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, he says.
Bernie Sanders has said he will work with Donald Trump on some issues. Photo: AFP
Mr Sanders, who ran against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, said in a statement that Mr Trump had tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that was sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and establishment media.
"People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids - all while the very rich become much richer."
Mr Sanders said he was prepared to work Mr Trump on some issues.
"To the degree that Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him.
"To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigourously oppose him."
Mr Sanders, a socialist who ran for the Democratic Party despite being an Independent, was critical throughout his campaign of Mr Trump, calling him a bully, and a danger to the future of the country.
The Sanders campaign energized much of the party's liberal base and young voters with his calls to rein in Wall Street and fight income inequality.
Some have questioned whether Mr Sanders would have beaten Mr Trump in a race for the White House, had he been elected as the Democrat's presidential nominee.
After Mrs Clinton secured the nomination, Mr Sanders urged his supporters to vote for her - a move that Mr Trump criticised.
He wrote in a tweet that Mr Sanders had "totally sold out to Crooked Hillary Clinton. Fans angry!"
"The candidate who ran against special interests is endorsing the candidate who embodies special interests," his campaign said in a release.
- RNZ / BBC