Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders praised Republican President Donald Trump in a rare comment from the Vermont senator about the president he has long criticized for his policies and actions.

In an interview with CNN, Sanders praised Trump’s political shrewdness, saying: “It is clear that this shutdown — referring to the government shutdown now in its second week — must end as soon as possible, but it is also clear that Trump now realizes he must finally deal with the healthcare crisis caused by his legislation, the huge and beautiful bill.”

He continued: “Trump may be crazy and may lie all the time, but he is a shrewd politician,” adding that Trump sees the same polls he sees and that Americans cannot afford healthcare now.

The Vermont senator added: “And you, Mr. Trump, want to double healthcare premiums for more than 20 million people, you want to deprive 15 million people of the healthcare they currently have. You will destroy a fragile healthcare system. We may not be able to recover from that. I believe Trump realizes that Republicans realize that.”

Sanders also criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (a Republican from Louisiana), saying he wished Johnson had not given his members a break, adding: “They are not here, which is very unfortunate.”

On Monday, Trump stated on his social media platform Truth Social that he would work with Democrats in Congress on their policies, which he described as failures in healthcare or anything else, but they must first allow the government to reopen.

According to the report, the government shutdown began after Republicans and Democrats in the Senate failed to reach a funding agreement, with Democrats demanding an extension of support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is set to expire at the end of 2025.