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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has been on to Trump’s game for years, and his response to Trump’s speech to Congress highlighted the gimmick that Trump uses to distract the American people from the billionaire agenda and their plan to cut Social Security and Medicaid.
Sanders said during his response:
“Just tonight, Trump claimed that millions of dead people between the ages of 100 and 360, I guess, were collecting Social Security checks. And that is an outrageous lie intended to lay the groundwork for cuts to Social Security and dismantling the most successful and popular government program in history. So let’s be clear about that. Well over 99 percent of Social Security checks are going out to people who earned those checks. 70 million Americans, nobody, nobody who was 150 years old or 200 years old or 300 years old is receiving Social security checks and on and on the lies go.
Now, the purpose of all of this lying is not just to push his hateful right-wing ideology. It is not just to try to divide us up. It is more than that. It is a masterful effort, and you saw that tonight, to deflect attention away from the most important issues facing the people of our country. Issues that Trump and his billionaire friends do not want to address because it is not in their financial interest to do so.”
Trump gave his State of the Union speech tonight, but if you listen closely, that speech had very little to say about the State of the Union, about what is really going on in our country, especially for working families. Trump spoke for over 90 minutes, although I must confess it seemed a lot longer than that, and he almost completely ignored the issues that are keeping working people up at night as they worry about how their families are going to survive in these very tough times.
And I will tell you exactly why Trump had very little to say about the real crises facing the working class of this country. Think back six weeks ago, when Trump was inaugurated for his second term as president, just six weeks ago. Standing right behind him were the three wealthiest men in this country, Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos, and Mr. Zuckerberg.
And standing behind them 13 other billionaires who Trump had nominated the head major government agencies, many of the same billionaires, including Musk, were in the capitol tonight listening to that speech. In other words, it is there for all to see. The Trump administration is not hiding it.
The Trump administration is a government of the billionaire class by the billionaire class. And for the billionaire class, notwithstanding some of their rhetoric, this is a government that could care less about ordinary Americans and the working families of our country. My friends, we are no longer moving toward oligarchy.
We are living in an oligarchic society.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) delivered a Democratic response that was designed to talk to moderate Americans and, frankly, people who are voting for Trump who are having buyer’s remorse about the economy, prices, Ukraine, and other issues that more and more Americans are rejecting Trump’s position on. Slotkin’s response should be viewed as an appeal to all swing states and districts that regret supporting Trump because, unlike people who follow the news closely, many Americans are just starting to see what Trump is doing.
The Bernie Sanders response targeted a different audience. Sanders appealed to progressives and activists, delivering a grassroots message to reach working people. Both messages are effective, and both are necessary in order to defeat Trump.
Sen. Sanders is doing important work in organizing people for this fight.
The left is most successful when it is unified toward a common goal, and Trump has brought all parts of the left together on a mission to stop him and save the country.
What did you think of Sen. Sanders’s response? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
