“So long as we have nation-states, you’ve got to have borders,” Sanders said. “If you don’t have any borders, then you don’t have a nation.”

He added pointedly, “Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, you know, but we should have a secure border, and it ain’t that hard to do.”

The remarks, aired in the podcast episode on Wednesday and now circulating widely on X and YouTube, mark one of the Vermont independent’s sharpest breaks with his party.

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS TRUMP’S NOT STUPID TO REALIZE ‘SYSTEM IS BROKEN,’ EVEN AS HE MAKES IT WORSE

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, arrives for a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Biden didn’t do it,” he added, faulting several administrations for failing to enforce the law.

The clip drew immediate attention from across the political spectrum, with the Republican National Committee’s research arm posting it within hours to X.

Sanders, who ran for president twice on a populist economic platform, has previously broken with his party on immigration enforcement, warning during the 2020 campaign about the risks of “open borders” rhetoric. He said the U.S. has the “technology and manpower” to secure the border but that leaders of both parties have failed to do so.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that overall [Biden] did a good job — it was not,” Sanders said.

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A family of five claiming to be from Guatemala and a man stating he was from Peru, in pink shirt, walk through the desert after crossing the border wall in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Matt York)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged 2.47 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2023, an all-time high, up from about 458,000 in Trump’s final year.

The senator made the remarks as he promoted his new book, “Fight Oligarchy,” and fielded Dillon’s pointed questions about what the Democrat Party’s platform should be.

Sanders’ tone marks a sharp shift from his 2020 campaign, when he dismissed talk of a “border crisis” and accused Trump of “demonizing immigrants.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a “No Kings” rally in Washington, D.C., Saturday. (Fox News / Pool)

During a March 2020 Fox News town hall, Sanders said he “would not close the borders” even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, calling border shutdowns “xenophobic.”

In January 2019, as Trump in his first term as president made a prime-time case that a border crisis required urgent action, Sanders downplayed the situation, saying at the time “we don’t need to create artificial crises” at the border.

Given that history, Sanders’ new tone represents a striking reversal. By saying “it ain’t that hard” to secure the border and urging Democrats to “have a border,” the Vermont independent is echoing long-standing conservative arguments.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Sanders’ office for additional comment.

Jasmine Baehr is a Breaking News Writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, faith and culture.

The post Sanders praises Trump, slams Biden on border: ‘You’ve got to have borders, period’ appeared first on My Blog.

Frank Llewellyn, the former director of the largest socialist organization in America and a founding member of the socialist group that would later become DSA’s sister organization, serves as the treasurer for both Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign and her political action committee, Courage to Change.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign has paid Llewellyn a total of over $250,000 for payroll, travel and other administrative expenses dating back to 2018, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. Disbursements range from $77.50 for cellphone, travel and internet stipends and salary payments of $1,281 approximately every two weeks.

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Besides working on Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, Llewellyn also sits on the board of the Democratic Socialists of America Fund, a sister organization to the DSA, according to the group’s website.

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“Frank Llewellyn was one of the original incorporators of the Institute for Democratic Socialism which later became the Democratic Socialists of America Fund,” the DSA Fund website says. “A lifelong activist and socialist he served Democratic Socialists of America in New York City since the organization was founded. He served on its National Political Committee and as its National Director for more than ten years.”

Llewellyn was national director of DSA for over 10 years, from 2001 to 2011. Llewellyn confirmed to Fox News Digital that he continues to be a “lifetime member” of DSA and that he has been on Ocasio-Cortez’s staff since her first election in 2018.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., (left) employs Frank Llewellyn, a former national director of the Democratic Socialists of America. (AP; Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

One of the most significant achievements of DSA during Llewellyn’s time as director was the election of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in 2006. Llewellyn wrote an article in the DSA’s magazine celebrating Sanders’ election as the first time in American history that “a self-declared socialist has won a seat in the United States Senate.” In the article, Llewellyn detailed DSA’s deep involvement with Sanders’ campaign, saying fundraising for his successful campaign “is a major accomplishment in which we can take great pride.”

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Llewellyn wrote that “in the coming period, it is vital that we use our newly gained grassroots network, and our ties to truly progressive Democrats and Bernie Sanders, to promote both a progressive agenda and progressive organizing.”

The organization also later went on to endorse Sanders during both his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

An examination of Llewellyn’s social media shows that he continues to be an active member of the Queens branch of the New York City DSA. He posts regularly about Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders as well as New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is also an active member of DSA. In a 2021 Facebook post, Llewellyn said he was “very pleased to vote for Queens DSA endorsing [Mamdani]” when he successfully ran for the New York State Assembly.

Though Mamdani leads the New York City mayoral race by double digits, sparking concerns about the rise of socialism in America, a recent Fox News national survey revealed capitalism remains more popular than socialism. However, voters indicated they support raising taxes on the wealthy.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., greet the crowd together during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour event at Arizona State University, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz.  (Ross D. Franklin)

Fox News Digital previously reported on DSA’s massive influence on the Mamdani campaign, including highlighting how DSA members discussed during a July panel how they have been closely collaborating with Mamdani and how he has the organization positioned to “seize state power.”

DSA organizer Daniel Goulden claimed the organization has been intimately involved in Mamdani’s campaign, even helping to write portions of his platform.

“With Zohran, we’re in basically the best possible position to seize state power that we can be in because, you know, we’re like this,” Goulden said, indicating with his fingers that the campaign and organization are very close.

Goulden went on to suggest that “one of the things that made Zohran really successful with his policy rollouts is specifically relying on DSA.”

AOC and Sanders, who are both self-proclaimed democratic socialists, have both endorsed and promoted Mamdani’s campaign and will be participating in a rally with him this upcoming Sunday.

FOX NEWS POLL: CAPITALISM REMAINS MORE POPULAR THAN SOCIALISM, YET MAJORITIES SUPPORT TAXING THE WEALTHY

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani hold hands during the town hall “Fighting Oligarchy” event at Brooklyn College on Sept. 6, 2025.  (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

The national DSA organization and its chapters, including the NYC-DSA, have shared views on several issues that they have been vocal about, including their disdain for ICE and cracking down on “bad landlords” by having the city take control of properties when a landlord refuses to make repairs or “demonstrates consistent neglect” of their tenants.

Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders went on a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour against the “billionaire class and corporate greed,” which amassed more than 300,000 attendees across 34 rallies in 20 states, according to Sanders.

Ocasio-Cortez faced criticism for racking up thousands at boutique hotels during the tour. Sanders also faced backlash after Fox News Digital exposed him and AOC for flying on private jets, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in disbursements during the tour.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and DSA for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey, Andrew Mark Miller and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

The post Former top leader of radical group tied to Mamdani has been on AOC's campaign payroll for years appeared first on My Blog.