On CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday, extremely optimistic Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders criticized Donald Trump for corrupting voters’ fears and anxieties into xenophobic and racial hatred. Sanders also said that he can win some of those people over.

“Many of Trump’s supporters are working-class people and they’re angry, and they’re angry because they’re working longer hours for lower wages, they’re angry because their jobs have left this country and gone to China or other low-wage countries, they’re angry because they can’t afford to send their kids to college so they can’t retire with dignity,” Sanders said.

“What Trump has done with some success is taken that anger, taken those fears which are legitimate and converted them into anger against Mexicans, anger against Muslims, and in my view that is not the way we’re going to address the major problems facing our country.”

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sanders attacked Trump’s economic policy: “The real issues are not Donald Trump’s vulgarity. And he is vulgar. It is the fact that Donald Trump thinks we should not be raising the minimum wage. He believes that wages in America are too high. This guy wants to give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the top 3/10 of 1%, and meanwhile what he wants to do is divide our country between Latinos and Americans and Muslims and everybody else.”

Sanders said on CBS that his campaign’s focus on economic inequality and the redistribution of wealth will eventually appeal to those people whose alienation Trump has harnessed. Maybe! Or maybe they’re just bitter old racists.

Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.