Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are running for different political parties, with Trump leading the Republican side and Sanders hoping to upset Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side.
However, both have tapped into popular frustration, and have overlapping stances on three issues in particular: Trade, Wall Street, and the campaign finance system.
1. Trade
Trade is the area that Sanders and Trump agree on the most, with both proposing tariffs on international trade to encourage the return of jobs and manufacturing back to the working class in the United States.
Both Sanders and Trump are against the TPP—the Trans-Pacific Partnership—with Trump emphasizing that it gives China an advantage in the international market, and Sanders emphasizing its benefits to Wall Street.
2. Wall Street
Sanders has based a lot of his campaign platform on railing against Wall Street. On his website he outlines his plan for Wall Street Reform, arguing, “These institutions have acquired too much economic and political power, endangering our economy and our political process.”
Trump argued in January, before the Iowa Caucus, that Wall Street should be taxed.
“I’m really good at that stuff,” he said. “I know Wall Street. I know the people on Wall Street. We’re going to have the greatest negotiators of the world, but at the same time I’m not going to let Wall Street get away with murder. Wall Street has caused tremendous problems for us. We’re going to tax Wall Street.”
3. Campaign Financing
Part of Sanders’s and Trump’s appeal is that they’re both funded mostly by the people, and both rail against their opponents that rely on their Super PAC’s.
Trump has claimed that he’s running a self-funded campaign, but also admits that he takes small donations, which, according to an ABC report, amounted to about $7.5 million as of Jan. 31, 2016.
Sanders has repeatedly attacked Clinton for her Super PAC monies, and made the “corrupt campaign finance system” a tagline in his stump speech.
The Vermont senator has also touted his fundraising ability, with the average contribution being $27. In March, Sanders raised $44M with $6.5 million individual contributions from 2 million donors.
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