--- ---  # Bernie Sanders Says This Republican President Was a Bigger Socialist Than He Is by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 10:36 PM UTCPublished: Nov 15, 2015 3:16 AM UTC  Bernie Sanders speaks during the second Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sheslow Auditorium of Drake University in Des Moines, IO on Nov. 14, 2015. Bernie Sanders speaks during the second Democratic presidential primary debate in the Sheslow Auditorium of Drake University in Des Moines, IO on Nov. 14, 2015.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 10:36 PM UTCPublished: Nov 15, 2015 3:16 AM UTC **Correction appended, Nov. 15, 2015** Bernie Sanders earned a hearty applause from the audience on Saturday when he compared his lofty tax plans with that of former President Dwight Eisenhower. “I’m no more socialist than Eisenhower,” Sanders said of the Republican president under whom the marginal tax rate was 92%. The Vermont senator, who self-identifies as a “Democratic Socialist” has said he would raise the marginal tax rate for the wealthiest Americans to something well below 90%, although he did not give an exact number. Sanders defended his tax plan as the debate pivoted from the issue of national security to domestic policies. Saturday wasn’t the first time Sanders joked that Eisenhower was more “socialist” than he is, based on taxes. “When radical, socialist Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, I think the highest marginal tax rate was something like 90%,” Sanders said in an [interview last May](http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/bernie-sanders-asks-if-american-economy-moral-n364541). **Correction:** An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Sanders’ preference for a top marginal tax rate. Democratic Debate: Sanders Compares Himself to Eisenhower ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4113480/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-says-this-republican-president-was-more-of-a-socialist-than-him/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4113480/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-says-this-republican-president-was-more-of-a-socialist-than-him/"},"headline":"Bernie Sanders Says This Republican President Was a Bigger Socialist Than He Is","datePublished":"2015-11-15T03:16:00.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T22:36:31.000Z","description":"Correction appended, Nov. 15, 2015 Bernie Sanders earned a hearty applause from the audience on Saturday when he compared his lofty tax plans with that...","url":"https://time.com/4113480/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-says-this-republican-president-was-more-of-a-socialist-than-him/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Bernie Sanders","Democrats 2016","2016 Democrats"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ba575e30a26f52/69887124524fc0059fdf57b7/sanders-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ba575e30a26f52/69887124524fc0059fdf57b7/sanders-debate1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-VOTE-DEMOCRATS-DEBATE","caption":"US-VOTE-DEMOCRATS-DEBATE","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4113480/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-says-this-republican-president-was-more-of-a-socialist-than-him/","name":"Bernie Sanders Says This Republican President Was a Bigger Socialist Than He Is"}}]}] ```