“I really believe that Russia is the leader of the free world right now," Heimbach told Business Insider in a recent interview. "Putin is supporting nationalists around the world and building an anti-globalist alliance, while promoting traditional values and self-determination."

And while he views Russia as a "model for civilization" and "a beacon for nationalists," Heimbach emphasized that the movement goes beyond Russia and traditional left-right politics.

"Yes," she told Tapper during a special edition of CNN's "State of the Union," filmed at Harvard University's Institute of Politics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "And Bernie Sanders -- I'd also like to publicly thank Bernie Sanders for his effect on our campaign because he softened up Hillary Clinton. He won 22 states and 13 million voters, and that ain't nothing."