Bernie Sanders on differences with Elizabeth Warren: "She is a capitalist ... I'm not"

In an interview with ABC' "This Week" Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed back on the idea that he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are interchangeable candidates within the 2020 Democratic field, arguing that Warren is a "capitalist through her bones" and he is a democratic socialist.

---

JON KARL: What do you say to those who say that they would pick her because she's 8 years younger than you, she didn't just have a heart attack, and, look, in the positions you're pretty much the same.

SANDERS: Well look, everybody, every American is going to make his or her own choice about the candidate that they want. Elizabeth Warren has been a friend of mine for some 25 years, and I think she is a very, very good senator. But there are differences between Elizabeth and myself. Elizabeth, I think as you know, has said that she is a capitalist through her bones. I'm not. ... And the reason I am not is because I will not tolerate for one second, the kind of greed and corruption, income and wealth inequality, and so much suffering, that is going on in this country today, which is unnecessary.

Why it matters: Sanders and Warren appeal to a similar progressive base of the Democratic Party. But while Sanders' support seems to have largely hit a plateau, Warren has continued to rise in the polls, overtaking the more moderate Joe Biden in the national RealClearPolitics average of polls last week for the first time this cycle.

Between the lines: In a recent CBS News poll of Democrats in early voting states, 43% said that the 78-year-old Sanders — who recently had a heart attack — is "too old to serve effectively as president." 28% said the same of the 76-year-old Biden, while only 4% said so for the 70-year-old Warren.

Go deeper: Sanders says he felt symptoms for weeks, will release medical records