Bernie Sanders' more liberal policy agenda could aid Harris.

• During his DNC speech, Sen. Bernie Sanders highlighted his unique policy priorities, which differ significantly from Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign platform.
• Donald Trump has tried to portray Harris as a strict liberal politician in an effort to deter undecided voters who lean Democratic.
• So far, Sanders has given lukewarm backing to Harris and her policy plans.
• The rewritten sentence is: "The Harris campaign can use the argument that she is not as far left as Republicans claim to appeal to center-leaning voters."

During his primetime speech at the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., highlighted his own policy priorities, some of which differ from Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign platform.

Sanders reiterated his support for Medicare for All, emphasizing that healthcare should be a human right, not a privilege, and that the US needs to join the rest of the industrialized world in providing it to all people.

The senator in Vermont, who is an independent and seeking reelection, knew that Harris did not agree with his stance on universal healthcare.

"In a Monday interview with Politico, he stated that Medicare for All is necessary. However, this is not the opinion of the president or the speaker, and he believes he is correct while they are incorrect."

In his DNC speech, Sanders criticized the impact of big money in politics, despite the support of billionaire megadonors for Harris' campaign.

Sanders stated that elections should not be bought by billionaires, regardless of their political affiliation, including during primary elections.

Harris's campaign is backed by a Rolodex of billionaire megadonors and millions in small-dollar donations.

Sanders stated that we must confront big pharma, big oil, big ag, big tech, and other corporate monopolists whose greed is hindering progress for working people.

Sanders broke the unspoken rule of presidential conventions by not praising Harris in his DNC speech, while making universal healthcare, money in politics, and class warfare key planks of his speech.

While Harris received support from Biden, Sanders' views differed from the vice president's.

On Tuesday, Sanders did not show strong support for Harris for the first time in his speech.

"In a Monday Politico interview, Sanders stated that Harris is a great campaigner, even though they are not best friends. He has known her for many years."

While Sanders supports Harris, he maintains that President Biden could have won a second term, a belief that is not widely held among his party's leaders.

Despite Sanders' loyalty to Biden, concerns about his reelection bid arose after his disastrous debate.

Not so radical?

Sanders' decision to emphasize the differences between himself and Harris could benefit the vice president in winning over moderate, undecided voters.

In the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina, a recent August poll by the New York Times and Siena College revealed that 45% of likely voters felt that Kamala Harris was too liberal or too progressive.

Trump's effort to portray Harris as a radical progressive is contributing to that sentiment, as he tries to deter moderate undecided voters from considering the Democratic ticket.

Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday that Comrade Kamala Harris is terrible for our country. He stated that she is a Communist, has always been a Communist, and will always be a Communist.

Harris' lukewarm support for Sanders contradicts GOP accusations.

Sanders, a Democratic Socialist and one of the most left-leaning lawmakers on Capitol Hill, serves as a reminder to center-leaning voters that there are many Democrats who are more radical than the vice president.

That message might already have begun to take hold with the electorate.

On Tuesday, Austin Davis, a 29-year-old self-declared communist from Chicago, stated to NBC News that he does not consider Harris a communist.

"Kamala is not a communist," he stated. "It's evident that she's not a communist, as anyone with a basic understanding of the definition can attest."