Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told late night host Stephen Colbert that he would not miss Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., "at all" on Tuesday after she announced she would not seek re-election.
Colbert, an enthusiastic Democratic Party booster, repeated the Sinema news and as the audience applauded and Sanders laughed, Colbert said, "obviously a lot of people are going to miss her. How much are you going to miss her?"
"Not at all," Sanders responded. The Vermont senator, a Democratic socialist, criticized Sinema for not supporting the Build Back Better bill.
"We had zero Republican support. We had 48 people in the Democratic caucus prepared to transform this country on behalf of the working class of America. Two people, Kyrsten Sinema being one and [Joe] Manchin being the other, refused to support us, and we couldn’t pass it, so no, I will not miss Senator Sinema," Sanders said.
Sinema announced on Super Tuesday that she will not seek re-election when her first term ends next year.
The move from Sinema, who switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent in 2022, leaves the Arizona Senate race narrowed between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego. Sinema was part of a moderate group that helped broker Senate deals, and she angered progressives at times by bucking some of their priorities.
"Our democracy was weakened by government dysfunction and the constant pull to the extremes by both political parties," Sinema said in a video announcement posted to social media. "I promised I would do my best to fix it."
ARIZONA SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA LEAVES DEMOCRATIC PARTY, REGISTERS AS INDEPENDENT
Colbert also asked Sanders if he was worried about President Biden's advanced age.
"I’m worried about a lot of things. But I think that media has fixated a little bit too much on age," Sanders, who is a year older than Biden, responded.
Sanders said age was definitely a "factor" but encouraged people to look more at accomplishments. He also challenged Biden, who he finished runner-up to in the 2020 Democratic primary, to keep building on progressive achievements.
"We are rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. We are investing in sustainable energy. Those are real achievements. So I think, rather than saying ‘oh, he made another gaffe today. Oh, he doesn’t walk all that well.’ Compare what he has done and what he wants to do with where [Donald] Trump is coming from, I think people will come out for Biden big time," Sanders said.
Sanders' appearance on Colbert's show came the same night former President Trump and Biden effectively clinched their parties' respective nominations on Super Tuesday, setting up a long-expected rematch.
Trump's lone remaining Republican challenger, Nikki Haley, suspended her campaign on Wednesday, while Biden has not faced any substantial opposition in 2024.
Fox News' Jamie Joseph and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
