Krugman said exactly what I have said before in this forum. Why call yourself a Socialist if you are not pursuing what the accepted definition of Socialist is? Sanders only hurts himself by using Socialism and Socialist when as your quote above says, he is actually a "social Democrat" or people would have you believe. If a distinction can be made and I believe it can to some degree, why keep using the term that gets you in more trouble?
No matter what term we put on Bernie or what term Bernie wants to use for himself is besides the point IMHO. It's his policies no matter what you call them, that is the problem.
So what does Denmark think of Bernie Sanders?
https://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/96500...bernie-sanders
Denmark's prime minister says Bernie Sanders is wrong to call his country socialist
Bernie Sanders has long referred to himself as a socialist rather than a member of the Democratic Party, which has naturally led to a lot of questions about what socialism means to him. He consistently references the social models of the Nordic states — especially Denmark — as his idea of what democratic socialism is all about. But in a speech Friday evening at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that while he's flattered to see Denmark discussed in a widely watched US presidential debate he doesn't think the socialist shoe fits.
"I know that some people in the US associate the Nordic model with some sort of socialism," he said. "Therefore, I would like to make one thing clear. Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy."
In Rasmussen's view, "The Nordic model is an expanded welfare state which provides a high level of security to its citizens, but it is also a successful market economy with much freedom to pursue your dreams and live your life as you wish."
So, does Bernie believe in a market economy? I would say, no, he doesn't. This is the argument that Warren makes in trying to separate herself from Bernie. Warren is proud to say she is a capitalist as apparently the leader of Denmark is but Bernie won't go that far because it would hurt his "cred" with the revolutionaries like AOC.
I thought this was an interesting headline
Bernie Sanders Is Too Liberal to Get Elected in Denmark
It’s not just the “socialist” label that might concern the Danes. Denmark’s economic success is inseparable from free trade and low corporate-income taxes. Bernie’s policy decisions are the opposite of policies the Danes believe foster their success.
Indeed, before Republicans lowered the U.S. corporate tax in 2018, Denmark’s corporate tax was significantly lower than ours. Bernie, on the other hand, has not been a fan of free trade or lower corporate-income taxes.
On corporate taxes, Bernie’s opinion has been consistent: In the fall of 2018, on one of the Sunday shows, Bernie emphatically argued that if the Democrats retake the Senate, corporate taxes would “absolutely” go back up. However, the Scandinavian countries Bernie professes to admire believe the opposite. They support low, competitive corporate taxes and have embraced the free-trade agreements.
The Danes are vocal in distancing themselves from Bernie’s policies and quite emphatically don’t want to be known as a bad place to do business. The executive editor in chief for Politiken, a Danish newspaper, writes: “There is this idea that we are a heavily regulated society with a closed economy. The opposite is true.”
The idea that we can do the same things a country of 5.6 million people can do is ludicrous on it's surface. Nobody looks to Scandanavia to help protect the world. They look to us and without us, they would all be slaves to bigger, badder country who know we won't let that happen in the 21st century.
And they aren't that found of "others" and have crime problems we don't often hear about.
I've made the argument many times before that just because Denmark can do something doesn't mean the US can do the same thing