C++ isn't "C with classes" and hasn't been for years. Yes, Rust is bigger and more complicated than C, but much less so than C++.

> Why are you being pedantic?

I'm not. I'm making a real point: Rust is much simpler and easier than C++, so the spirit of Bjarne's quote, which is that for a language to become popular it necessarily has to have as many drawbacks as C++, is wrong.