--- title: Trump Suggests Sanders Run As An Independent description: Donald Trump suggested that Bernie Sanders had not been treated well by the Democratic Party and should instead run as an Independent canonical: https://time.com/4308124/donald-trump-bernie-sanders-independent/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-26T16:57:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:02:48.681Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Suggests Bernie Sanders Run as an Independent og:description: "Bernie Sanders has been treated terribly by the Democrats" og:url: https://time.com/4308124/donald-trump-bernie-sanders-independent/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1a143359e0d9723/69889089428a9e9eb8cd25d4/trump-rhode-island.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Warwick og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Suggests Bernie Sanders Run as an Independent twitter:description: "Bernie Sanders has been treated terribly by the Democrats" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd1a143359e0d9723/69889089428a9e9eb8cd25d4/trump-rhode-island.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Suggests Bernie Sanders Run as an Independent > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 26, 2016 4:57 PM UTC  Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Warwick, Rhode Island, April 25, 2016. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Warwick, Rhode Island, April 25, 2016. Brian Snyder—Reuters  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 26, 2016 4:57 PM UTC Donald Trump suggested Monday that Bernie Sanders had not been treated well by the Democratic Party and should instead run as an Independent. “Bernie Sanders has been treated terribly by the Democrats—both with delegates & otherwise,” the GOP frontrunner tweeted. “He should show them, and run as an Independent!” It’s a threat Trump himself [has made before](http://time.com/3972001/donald-trump-third-party/?iid=sr-link3) within the Republican Party. [According to Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/trump-bernie-sanders-independent-222450), Sanders has made comments agreeing with Trump’s assessment that he hasn’t been treated fairly by the party. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/724993336000532480) “So it sounds like the party, though, you feel like’s been fair to you?” Chuck Todd asked the Vermont senator on Sunday. “No. I think we have— look, we’re taking on the establishment. That’s pretty clear,” Sanders replied. “The fact that we had debates that were scheduled — pretty clearly, to my mind, at a time when there would be minimal viewing audience, et cetera, et cetera. But you know, that’s the way it is. We knew we were taking on the establishment. And here we are. 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