Bernie Sanders’s 1980s public access show gets reviewed by The Daily Show

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah showed clips from Bernie Sanders’s public access program that are must-see.

Senator Bernie Sanders is unlike any other major figure in U.S. politics. But as The Daily Show with Trevor Noah discovered, Bernie has been Bernie for a long time.

Footage was recently released from a public access television program hosted by Bernie Sanders during his tenure as mayor of Burlington, Vermont in the 1980s. It proves that Sanders has been very consistent with not only his political views but his signature look.

But beyond the political aspects of Sanders’s show, it has an unexpected entertainment factor driven by some unintentionally hilarious moments. Rarely does Trevor Noah react with the genuine amusement that he did after seeing clips from Sander’s television work in the 1980s.

Chances are that those clips only cemented whatever opinion you have about Bernie Sanders. If you are a fan, then it was endearing and confirmed that Sanders is authentic to how he portrays himself now. If you are not a fan, then you have more evidence that Sanders has always been a cranky old man yelling at whoever will listen.

But politics aside, those clips were really something else. Noah is basically in tears after hearing Sanders call a kid dumb for thinking school wasn’t important. And this comes after asking a five-year-old if he has ever seen cocaine.

Cut to a Vermont classroom where Sanders is listing off every stereotype he can think of to tell kids in 1987. Sanders may be popular among millennials now but in the late 1980s he clearly did not know how to talk to young people.

Noah then moves on to ridicule Sanders’s attempts to take a “man on the street” approach to talking with kids. The comedian applauds the kids who weren’t so eager to talk to an older man driving around with a camera asking about trees.

The footage from his public access show won’t do any damage to Bernie Sanders’s 2020 bid for president. After all, much worse things have been said on camera by candidates who ended up doing just fine. But if he doesn’t win the election, Sanders should seriously consider a return to television hosting. You can bet Trevor Noah would watch.