We investigate Bernie Sanders’s MBTI personality type. Bernie Sanders is an American politician and activist who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history. Sanders self-identifies as a democratic socialist and is known for his opposition to economic inequality and neoliberalism.

What is Bernie Sanders’s MBTI Personality Type?

Bernie Sanders’s MBTI type is the INFP personality. INFPs are very in touch with their thoughts and feelings. As an INFP, Bernie Sanders knows what his core beliefs are, and never strays from promoting equality.

Bernie also has the idealism of an INFP, pushing for policies that seem practically impossible to implement. INFPs are also very empathetic, and Bernie uses this ability to understand the emotions of others to persuade them to see the value in his ideals. We will use the INFP’s cognitive function stack to explain how Bernie Sanders shows up as an INFP.

Bernie Sanders has Introverted Feeling

Bernie Sanders has Introverted Feeling(Fi) as his dominant function. He is in touch with his core values and always acts according to what resonates with his inner principles. From young, he has always believed in racial equality.

In the University of Chicago, he protested against the university’s segregated housing policies. He believed that negro and white students should be able to live together in university-owned apartments. He continued to champion equality when he entered politics. He supports labor rights and workplace democracy.

Bernie Sanders has Extraverted Intuition

Bernie Sanders has Extraverted Intuition(Ne) as his auxiliary function. The combination of Ne and Fi makes an INFP very idealistic. Sanders has the romantic notion that America should have a universal and single-payer healthcare system as well as tuition free tertiary education. These are extremely difficult policies to enact, mainly due to the high cost of such policies, especially when the US is already under great fiscal strain and the government is facing challenges even to fund social security.

Ne+Fi also gives the INFP a unique ability to understand the point of view of others by putting himself in the shoes of others(ie embodied cognition). Sanders uses this ability to persuade others to adopt his point of view, or at least see the merit in his arguments. Bernie has been credited with influencing a leftward shift in the Democratic Party after his 2016 presidential campaign.

Bernie Sanders has Introverted Sensing

Bernie Sanders has Introverted Sensing(Si) as his tertiary function. Being a healthy INFP, Sanders does not spend much time in this function. He does not retreat to his comfort zone and instead proactively fights for what he believes is right. However, he does sometimes rely on his past experiences to guide him in his decisions.

Bernie Sanders has Extraverted Thinking

Bernie Sanders has Extraverted Thinking(Te) as his inferior function. This is apparent as he does not care for the effectiveness or pragmatism of policies. He instead champions policies which aligns with his principles but may be difficult to carry out in the real world. He described himself as a mediocre student in college as he felt that what he was studying was irrelevant, and focused on community instead.

Bernie Sanders’s MBTI type is no doubt that of an INFP personality. He does not waver in his convictions and actively persuades others to see what the right thing to do is. Do you agree with this typing? Do share your thoughts in the comments section. Also see Barack Obama’s MBTI, Donald Trump’s MBTI, Joe Biden’s MBTI, and Michelle Obama’s MBTI.