‘Scares Me’: Branding Expert Donny Deutsch Confronts Democratic Senator On AOC And Bernie Sanders Representing Party

Branding expert Donny Deutsch told Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy during a Tuesday podcast that it worries him how Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are such prominent figures in the Democratic Party.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have undertaken an ongoing “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, speaking to crowds about how to combat “the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power” in the U.S. Deutsch, speaking from his podcast “On Brand with Donny Deutsch,” said the politicians’ prominence gives Republicans the opportunity to portray the Democratic Party as extremely far left, but Murphy downplayed the issue.

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“What scares me — some of the big voices out there: AOC, Bernie Sanders. Even if their message of economic populism is a resonating message, they as messengers — I’m the branding guy that says, ‘Whoa, the party is way, way left.’ That’s what scares me,” Deutsch said. “That’s what says, if I see the — you know, I look at you, a moderate guy with a progressive voice — I look at Bernie, I look at AOC, and this is not here to bash them, but to say, from a branding point of view, it gives the opposite side the chance to say, ‘Oh, the party is so far left. They’re not relevant to your needs, swing voter.’”

Murphy disputed Deutsch’s characterization by saying Sanders draws audiences of all political backgrounds.

“I mean, he’s got, you know, folks that are sort of traditionally hard left, but he, you know, also has always had crossover appeal into some of Trump’s base,” the senator said. “And I think that’s because he has a laser-like focus on the unfairness of the economy.”