Obama admits: So-called moderate Joe Biden is 'not that different' from far-left Bernie Sanders

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is campaigning as a moderate, and the media worked overtime to present his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), not as a far-left lawmaker, but as a moderate that a plurality of Americans could support.

But according to former President Barack Obama, Biden is "not that different" from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

What did Obama say?

Sanders supports single-payer health care, ridiculously high taxes, the Green New Deal, free college education, raising the minimum wage, and canceling student loan debt, among other far-left policies.

Obama told New Yorker magazine that, from a "40,000-foot level," Biden and Sanders are not too dissimilar.

"If you look at Joe Biden's goals and Bernie Sanders's goals, they're not that different, from a 40,000-foot level," Obama admitted.

"They both want to make sure everybody has health care. They want to make sure everybody can get a job that pays a living wage. They want to make sure every child gets a good education," Obama continued.

The Democratic Party was deeply divided during the primary. On one side stood the Democratic establishment, which backed Biden. On the other side was the progressive wing of the party — the party's youth and diversity — which backed Sanders. When it became clear that Biden would be the nominee, questions arose about whether Biden could appeal to far-left Democrats.

According to Obama, Biden has moved further left — but he said any changes are merely circumstantial.

"A lot of times, the issue has to do with 'How do we go about that, and what are the coalitions we need?'" Obama said. "What I think the moment has done is to change some of those calculations, not because necessarily Joe's changed but because circumstances have changed."

What exactly are Biden's positions?

Indeed, many of his official policy positions align with what progressives advocate.

Biden supports raising taxes on wealthy Americans, supports raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, believes at least two years of college should be free, wants to expand the Affordable Care Act, and wants to enact a national firearm registry, among other positions.

However, Biden does not support universal health care, but he does "embrace" much of the Green New Deal, Slate reported.