Ann Coulter says she would vote for Bernie Sanders – if he 'went back' to immigration stance

William Cummings
Updated

Conservative provocateur Ann Coulter often makes headlines by caustically deriding political figures, but she drew attention Wednesday by saying nice things – about democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In a preview of an interview on PBS' "Firing Line With Margaret Hoover" that is scheduled to air Friday, Coulter said she might back the Vermont senator's 2020 presidential bid because of his past opposition to immigration legislation that he feared would drive down wages for American workers.

“If he went back to his original position, which is the pro-blue-collar position. I mean, it totally makes sense with him," she said.

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Coulter and other conservatives have praised Sanders for his opposition to a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2007.

"At a time when the middle class is shrinking, the last thing we need is to bring – over a period of years – millions of people into this country who are prepared to lower wages for American workers," Sanders said at the time. He also said America had a "very serious immigration problem" and that "our border is very porous."

"If he went back to that position, I’d vote for him. I might work for him," Coulter told PBS. "I don’t care about the rest of the socialist stuff – just: can we do something for ordinary Americans?”

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Even in 2007, Sanders held immigration views that were at odds with Coulter's hardline stance, most notably his support for a path to citizenship.

Since then, he has voted for the DREAM Act – which would have protected migrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation – and a 2013 comprehensive immigration reform that included guest worker provisions similar to the ones he opposed in 2007. And he denounced President Donald Trump's "war on undocumented immigrants."

Initially a passionate Trump supporter, Coulter wrote, "In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome!" ahead of the 2016 election. She has since soured on the president for what she perceives as his failure to follow through on his campaign promises to get tough on immigration, particularly his failure to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Man that was a great campaign," Coulter told PBS. "Oh my gosh, if only he governed 1% of the way he campaigned."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ann Coulter says she would vote for Bernie Sanders – if he 'went back' to immigration stance