Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who narrowly lost the Iowa caucuses in 2016 by a razor-thin margin, announced that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination again, but there are questions of whether he can repeat his insurgent campaign that gave him a lot of momentum in the race.The 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist won more than 13 million votes in 2016 and dozens of primaries and caucuses. He has already raised more than $4 million since announcing his 2020 presidential campaign, and he said nearly 150,000 individuals had contributed.He faces off against many Democrats who embrace many of his policy ideas and who are newer to the national political stage.Sanders spoke with KCCI's Steve Karlin about whether the 77-year-old can differentiate himself in a crowded pack of Democrats seeking to challenge President Donald Trump in the general election. He touted his campaign as laying the groundwork for the leftward lurch that has dominated Democratic politics in the Trump era.Q&ASteve Karlin: I want to start off with the fact that you got more than 13 million votes in 2016 – took Hillary Clinton right down to the wire. Can lightning strike twice for you in 2020 and what will be different for you this time?Sen. Bernie Sanders: Well, first of all, let me thank the state of Iowa. You guys began it all. When we came into Iowa the first time, I think I was at 5 percent in the polls, and I think we ended up with about 49.9 percent. And Iowa was the start of an effort which ended up winning 22 states, got over 13 million votes and ended up getting more votes from young people, people under 35, than Trump and Clinton combined. So Iowa was the state that gave us our start, and I very much appreciate the kind of support all over the state. We were – I can't remember how many dozens of town meetings we did in Des Moines and in the smaller towns, and I am very much grateful for the people of Iowa.I think what's different now is that we have a different president, obviously, a president whose behavior concerns me very much. Steve, it gives me no pleasure that to tell you what I believe is true, and that is that we have a president who is a pathological liar, who is a racist, who is a sexist, who is a xenophobe. And we should – we are a nation where people have different points of view. That's called democracy. That's not the kind of person who should be president of the United States.And the other thing that I would say is, coming out of Iowa and New Hampshire and the other states, the ideas that we talked about, which three years ago seemingly were radical and extreme ideas, talking about ideas like health care is a right, not a privilege, let's pass a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program, let's raise the minimum wage – to a living wage, $15 an hour – let's demand that the billionaires and the large, private corporations start paying their fair share of taxes, all of those ideas that seem so radical a few years ago are now part of the mainstream of American politics supported by many Democrats. That all started in Iowa. And I think we've made real progress in that direction.Steve Karlin: Senator, why do you feel you are the man, given what you just said about President Trump, to defeat President Trump in 2020?Sen. Bernie Sanders: Well, I think two things: No. 1, I think my record of standing up and fighting for working people of taking on the powerful special interest, that goes back a long, long way. I've been fighting for health-care-for-all for over 20 years. Second of all, I think the agenda that we are bringing forth is an agenda that will appeal to a number of the states that Trump won in the general election, including Iowa, including Michigan, including Wisconsin, including Pennsylvania, Florida and other states. So I think that we have the capability in this campaign of bringing our people together – black and white and Latino, Asian-American and Native-American, bringing people together around an agenda that says we need an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just a handful of billionaires and wealthy campaign contributors. I think that's a message that will resonate.Steve Karlin: Senator, if you feel you are dedicated enough to run for the Democratic Party nomination and for president on their ticket, why are you still not a Democrat, and if there are enough diverse, young candidates advocating for the same kind of policies that you advocate for, why are you running again, and what do you bring to the table that they don't?Sen: Bernie Sanders: Good. Well, Steve, just so you know, I am a member of the Democratic leadership in the United States Senate. That's who I am. And I was, a few months ago, in Iowa supporting J.D. Scholten. He didn't win, but to win, to become a congressman from Iowa. And I was all over this country fighting for Democrats to become members of Congress, senators and governors. And I have raised, over the years, literally millions of dollars for candidates.The second point is, I am very of the fact that we are seeing a freshman class in the U.S. House that it is the most diverse – more women, more people of color, more people of different backgrounds, younger, more progressive than we have seen in the modern history of this country. And I dare say that my 2016 campaign would say to young people, it said to working people, "Stand up, fight back. You don't have to get online. If you believe strongly in America that works for all of us, you run for office." And I think that has had a political impact on the culture that we have now.Steve Karlin: OK, Senator, if elected, you would be 78 on Inauguration Day. How concerned should people be about your age?Sen. Bernie Sanders: Steve, I am very fortunate. I'm going to knock on some wood here. I am a very healthy individual. I honestly cannot remember missing a day of work in the last six or seven years. When I was a kid, I was a pretty good long-distance runner, pretty good miler, cross-country runner, and I've got a long endurance. I had it then, and I have it now. And I would just ask people, that when you look at a candidate, any candidate, don't judge them by the color of their skin, don't judge them by their gender, don't judge them by their sexual orientation, don't judge them by their age. There are people who are 50 years of age who don't have a lot of energy. That's just the fact. Or there are people who are 90 who are putting in productive work. I would ask people to look at the totality of the candidate, including myself. And I think if they do, you'll find somebody who is strong, somebody who is energetic, somebody who is helping lead the fight in this country, to create an economy that works for all of us the few, somebody who's been on the forefront on so many issues facing so many people. So I would simply ask that people look at the totality of who I am and not just one factor.Steve Karlin: Alright, Senator, what does a pathway to citizenship look like and do we have a problem, a national emergency, at the southern border?Sen. Bernie Sanders: No. We have a problem. We do not have a national emergency. I think what Trump is doing is unconstitutional. It's unlawful. I think the courts will overturn it. I do believe we need strong border security. I think building miles and miles of walls is not the cost-effective way to provide that security. I also think that when you talk about immigration, you got 1.8 million people eligible for the DACA program. If I had my way about it, we would provide legal status to them tomorrow. And I think we need to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship for the 10 million-plus undocumented people in this country. I think that's good for our economy, and it's the right thing to do.Steve Karlin: Senator, do you support the Green New Deal?Sen. Bernie Sanders: I sure do. I happen to disagree very strongly with President Trump. I think that climate change is real. I think that it is caused by human activity. I think that it is already causing serious damage to our country and countries throughout the world, and the scientific community tells us almost unanimously is that if we do not get our act together and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel into energy efficiency and sustainable energy, and congratulations to Iowa, you guys are one of the leaders in the country in terms of wind power. I think 40 percent of your electricity now comes from wind. That's what we've got to be doing all over our country. And when we do that, we not only make sure not only our planet, but our country is healthy and habitable for our kids and our grandchildren. In my view, we're going to create millions of decent-paying jobs as well.Steve Karlin: Senator, when you announced on Tuesday, you said that now is the time to bring the country together. How do you do that in a country that is so divided?Sen. Bernie Sanders: I'll tell you how, Steve, That's a good question. Of course, we are divided. But more than most media folk understand, there is a lot of commonality in terms of how people view the major problems we have and the solutions that we should be striving for. You ask people in this country today, is health care a right or should we end up having 30 million people without any health insurance, they will tell you health care is a right and polls show that a majority of the American people support Medicare-for-all. Should we raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour? A majority of the American people say yes. Should we rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our water systems and create millions of jobs? People say yes. Should we make colleges and public universities tuition-free so that all kids, regardless of income, are able to get a higher education? People say yes. Should we demand that billionaires and corporations like Amazon that make billions in profit and not pay a nickel in taxes pay their fair share of taxes? The American people say yes. So my point is that on many of the key issues facing this country, you have a lot more commonality, a lot more common interests, a lot more support than many people think. And I think what we need is a president who listens to the working families of this county of what they want instead of the wealthy campaign contributors and the billionaire class and what they want. For example, very few people in Iowa, in Vermont or any place else think that it is a great idea to give $1 trillion in tax breaks as Trump did to the top 1 percent and private corporations and the propose cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. That is not what the American people want. That's what Trump wants. That's what the Republican leadership wants. So bottom line here is, I think you will see a lot less division in the country when you have a president who is listening to the American people and not just the very wealthiest people.Steve Karlin: Alright Senator, when are you coming to Iowa? We here at KCCI are very eager to have you stop by the station and have an even longer conversation. When are you coming to our state?Sen. Bernie Sanders: We are coming to your state. It's on the schedule. I can't give you the exact date. It is going to be within the next few weeks. I believe we'll be all over the state, and we'd love to visit you for a long conversation.Steve Karlin: Thank you, Senator, for your time today.Sen. Bernie Sanders: Thank you, Steve. Take care.