Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee, appeared on CNN on Tuesday to discuss the crisis taking place in Venezuela.
Menendez said there's no doubt in his mind that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is "an absolute dictator."
"He's a corrupt dictator. He has a combination of an absolute dictatorship and a narco traffic state," Menendez said. "There is no question he's corrupt."
During a CNN town hall on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) refused to call Maduro a dictator, something Menendez completed disagreed with.
"I'm really surprised that Senator Sanders could not at least call him a dictator," Menendez said.
CNN host John Berman asked Menendez if it was a mistake for Sanders not to call Maduro a dictator.
"Absolutely. Dictatorship is dictatorship whether from the right or left. Dictatorship oppresses their people," Menendez said.
We have a real problem in America when the Left has gone so far Left that they can't even recognize a socialist dictator right in front of their eyes. The days of moderate Democrats and Reagan Democrats are now a thing of the past. If they're not inching towards socialism then they're not "progressive" enough for their base.
It's really scary when you think about it.
If people who have a massive platform and the voice of the young, like Sanders, can't call someone who is literally starving his people a dictator, we need to do some self-reflection. Not condemning these actions means they're more likely to spread and, eventually, end up in America. Yes, I know. Socialists and Democratic Socialists are already in the United States. As of now, they taken the reins of the American government. But it's inching its way, closer and closer, to becoming a reality. The election – and celebration – of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is just one example of socialism inching its way deeper into Americans' homes.