Bernie Sanders Gave Sacha Baron Cohen Impeccable Side-Eye On His New Show

Sacha Baron Cohen, Bernie Sanders, and perfect side-eye. Image by GETTY IMAGES/FORWARD MONTAGE

By Jenny Singer July 16, 2018

Reaching across the aisle, Sacha Baron Cohen released footage scamming both liberals and conservatives in the premiere episode of his new TV show “Who Is America” on Sunday.

In his opening interview as Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., ph.D., with Bernie Sanders, Baron Cohen provided the best arena for Sanders’ patented side-eye since the advent of late capitalism.

Sanders, consenting to sit with the phony creator of “truthbrary.com” (a take on the word “library”) likely because of his association with Showtime, spoke with remarkable restraint to the concealed comedian, despite comments from Baron Cohen like, “I’d prefer to be anally raped rather than give one more dollar to the treasury.”

But as the two argued over the mathematics of percentages (can 100% of people be in the 1%? Maybe!) Sanders gave his eyeball so much free-reign he looked like an elderly, Jewish, Jim Halpert. As the costumed Baron Cohen, sporting two Trump buttons, an American flag pin, and a New York Times folded jauntily in the outer pocket of his electric scooter, continued to refer to the senator as “Bernard Sanders,” Sanders displayed the squinty eyeball dexterity that first made him an icon.

Behold:

Jim:

Bernard:

Jim:

Bernard:

And a classic throwback for the road:

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO