Ice cream mogul Ben Cohen expressed his deep yearning for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Thursday.
Cohen is a co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based ice cream company owned by Unilever, a multinational corporation that is the world’s largest manufacturer of food spreads.
Cohen was interviewed by MSNBC in Burlington, Vt. at the site of a rally for Republican candidate Donald Trump, where he was protesting on Sanders’ behalf.
"I think the reality is that the way to help change the system so that it does serve the needs of the people that are getting screwed is by what Bernie’s been talking about in terms of social and economic justice," Cohen said.
With a warm smile and much affable chuckling, a high-spirited Cohen described an ice cream flavor he had designed that captures Sander’s desire to smash capitalism.
"I came up with one called Bernie’s Yearning," Cohen said. "When you open up the pint, there’s this big disc of chocolate on the top covering the entire top and below it is plain mint ice cream. The disc of chocolate represents 90 percent of the wealth that’s gone to the top ten percent over the last ten years. The way you eat it is you take your spoon, you whack that big chocolate disc into little pieces and mix it around. There you have it, Bernie’s Yearning."
Bernie’s Yearning, which would allow progressive consumers to live out their fantasy of eating the rich, is not Cohen’s first political statement.
Cohen, along with partner Jerry Greenfield, have leveraged their influence as ice cream men on behalf of left-wing political causes for decades.
Ben & Jerry’s website claims that the company leads with "Progressive Values," which include fighting climate change, income inequality, GMOs, and militarism.