Rep. David Cicilline (D., R.I.) denied Wednesday that the Democratic Party is moving further toward socialism in the 2020 presidential race.
When CNN "Newsroom" co-host Poppy Harlow asked Cicilline if he thought Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) was the "best bet" to beat President Donald Trump in 2020, Cicilline said he thought "it's much too early to know who is going to be the best candidate." Cicilline went on to deny that Sanders has moved the party leftward since the 2016 election, even though the self-described democratic socialist raised nearly $6 million in his first day as an official 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
"I think all of the announced Democratic candidates for president are capitalists," Cicilline said. "We don't have socialist candidates running for president in the Democratic party."
Cicilline said he didn't think expanding Medicare and Social Security are socialist programs.
"They're deeply embedded in the American identity," he said of the programs.
The Rhode Island Democrat criticized Trump for characterizing a number of 2020 Democratic candidates as socialist.
"I don't see any movement in the Democratic party towards socialism at all," he said. "I know the president is making the argument. I think it's a silly one. I think he thinks it's politically advantageous, but there's just no evidence to support it."
Cicilline tried to separate Sanders from the Democratic Party by arguing he's "not a member," even though the senator ran for president in 2016 and now in 2020 as a Democrat.
"Bernie Sanders has contributed significantly to the debate on the important issues of our day. The Democratic nominee will be a Democrat who supports capitalism and progressive policies that will drive down health care costs, that will raise family incomes," he said. "So he's added to the debate. He's not a member of the Democratic Party, so I wouldn't attribute too much significance to how he self-identifies."
Sanders raised $5.9 million from 220,000 donors in the first 24 hours of his candidacy, according to a report from Politico. He also beat out other candidates for views on his announcement video, garnering more than 5.4 million views on Twitter—more than many other campaign launch videos have received after being posted for weeks.
Sanders has long identified as a democratic socialist, and he reaffirmed his ideology in his 2020 announcement.
"Three years ago, during our 2016 campaign, when we brought forth our progressive agenda we were told that our ideas were 'radical,' and 'extreme,'" he said. "We were told that 'Medicare for all,' a $15 an hour minimum wage, free tuition at public colleges and universities, aggressively combating climate change, demanding that the wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes, were all concepts that the American people would never accept. Well, three years have come and gone. And, as a result of millions of Americans standing up and fighting back, all of these policies and more are now supported by a majority of Americans."