Washington DC – Senator Bernie Sanders condemned Democratic efforts to reinstate SALT deductions as an abandonment of working families across America.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, progressive Bernie Sanders spoke with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan about the bleed of non-college-educated and working-class voters away from the Democratic Party.

"I think it is fair to say, as a result of heavy-duty campaign contributions, the Democratic Party has drifted away from being the party of FDR and even Harry Truman, in being understood and correctly perceived as the working-class party," Sanders concluded bitingly.

The conversation then turned toward a hot topic in national politics: whether to reinstate State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions, which were capped at $10,000 under Trump's 2017 tax bill.

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SALT deductions are considered beneficial primarily for wealthy residents in blue states, as those states typically have higher taxation rates.

Though not part of Biden's American Families Plan, several Democrats believe the negotiations present a good opportunity to get repealing the SALT deduction cap included in the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as beleaguered New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are some of the top Democrats who have indicated their support for reinstating SALT deductions.

Proponents of SALT deductions have faced criticism from progressives and leftists, who say they would only serve to heighten wealth inequalities in America.

Indeed, a 2019 report by the progressive-leaning Center of Budget and Policy Priorities found, "The top 1 percent of households would receive 56 percent of the benefit of repeal, and the top 5 percent of households would receive over 80 percent of the benefit." The Brookings Institution pointed out repealing the cap would benefit the wealthy even more than Trump's 2017 tax cuts, which came under heavy fire from Democrats at the time.

Sanders' comments seemed to imply that Democratic support for repealing the cap could have dangerous political consequences, potentially turning more working-class people away from Democrats and toward Republicans, who are increasingly trying to portray themselves as the working-class party as opposed to corporate-friendly Dems.

When Swan asked Sanders what he thought of top Democrats' support for the issue, the Vermont senator replied, "It sends a terrible, terrible message when you have Republicans telling us that this is a tax break for the rich."

"In fairness to Schumer and Pelosi, it is hard when you have tiny margins," he continued, "but you have got to make it clear which side you are on – and you can't be on the side of the wealthy and powerful if you're going to really fight for working families."