Sanders defends Trump's praise of Australian healthcare system

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) walks onto the stage as he is introduced by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) (not pictured) at a Our Revolution rally in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Schwalm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said on Saturday that President Donald Trump was right to call Australia's universal healthcare system better than the U.S. system.

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, also said the Senate should use the Australian system as a model while crafting an alternative to Republican healthcare legislation that Trump endorses.