Sanders says he can win over Trump supporters by channeling 'legitimate' anger

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Bernie Sanders said he thinks he can win over Donald Trump supporters because he can also channel the "legitimate" anger of "working-class people."

In a CBS interview released Sunday, Sanders said many Trump supporters are people who are angry and fearful due to decreasing wages and the rising costs of tuition, among other issues.

"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," Sanders said, adding that he would use that anger to support things like an increase in the minimum wage.

Sanders said he hopes to use proposals positively for working-class Americans, instead of "dividing us up and having us hate Mexicans or Muslims."

"We need policies that bring us together, that take on the greed of Wall Street, the greed of corporate America," Sanders said.

Trump is leading the Republican presidential nomination with 39 percent, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 18 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics 30-day average of polls.

Sanders shows 34 percent of the Democratic vote, second to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 50 percent.

In a head-to-head General Election match-up between Sanders and Trump, Real Clear Politics shows Sanders with 44.3 percent of the vote to Trump's 42.3 percent.