Man Of His Word: Bernie Sanders Already Holding Trump Accountable For Tweet History [Opinion]
If Donald Trump has never been held accountable for his actions before, he is in for a very big lesson in the form of Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump hasn’t even been sworn in as president yet and Bernie is already forcing his hand. During a debate about repealing the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday afternoon, Bernie presented a large graphic of a tweet Trump sent out in May 2015 as a way to force the president-elect to remember his word and protect much-needed social services for the poor, disabled, and senior citizens.
When it became apparent that Trump had won the election, Bernie issued a statement addressing Trump’s populist message that helped him win the election.
“To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”
And Bernie is following through with a vengeance. Since that day, Bernie has made several public appearances denouncing the Dakota Access Pipeline, and sent a tweet decrying Trump’s plan to eliminate the estate tax, a move that would give a $9 billion tax break to the president-elect and his cabinet nominees.
If Mr. Trump's plan to repeal the estate tax is enacted, his family and his cabinet nominees would receive a tax break of up to $9 billion. pic.twitter.com/ToIksPCFT9
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 31, 2016
In his speech on the Senate floor, Bernie criticized Republicans for working to immediately repeal Obamacare without having any replacement ready to take its place.
“They have no idea. Their theme is to repeal, and then to delay. You don’t destroy a house without having another house.”
He pointed out that repealing the healthcare law is unpopular and then called attention to Trump’s 2015 tweet as a way to hold the incoming president accountable for his campaign promises.
“If he was sincere, then I would hope that tomorrow or maybe today he could send out a tweet and tell his Republican colleagues to stop wasting their time and all of our time. And for Mr. Trump to tell the American people that he will veto any proposal that cuts Medicare or that cuts Social Security.”
Bernie’s bold move to throw Trump’s own tweet back in his face signaled the beginnings of a political rivalry that could prove even more dramatic than the 2016 election season. He is essentially forcing Trump to show his true intentions, whatever they may be.
Even Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul criticized the GOP effort to repeal the ACA without having a replacement. On Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto, Paul condemned Republicans for not having a replacement plan in place prior to attempting to repeal the healthcare law. Of course, the libertarian-leaning lawmaker expressed more concern for the insurance industry than he did for Americans possibly losing their healthcare insurance.
Last month, Bernie appeared in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at a town hall during which he discussed why Trump won. There is a lot of pain, he said, and people believed his message, whether true or not. He cited companies’ moves to China, Mexico, and Indonesia as reasons the middle class has shrunken to historically low levels. On the Senate floor, Bernie seized on Trump’s tweet history to hold his feet to the fire, to hold him accountable for doing what he said he’d do and protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security from cuts and privatization.
In an earlier press conference with Democrats, Bernie Sanders held no punches regarding Trump’s campaign promises. According to NBC News, Bernie threw down the gauntlet, challenging Trump to enter office as a liar, or as a man of his word.
“This is what he asked millions of elderly people and working class people to vote for him on — these are the principles that Donald Trump ran and won the presidency on. If he makes that clear to his Republican colleagues we can save us a whole lot of time and start getting to work doing what this country desperately needs to have done.”
After Bernie’s chess move to hold Trump accountable for his campaign tweet promising to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, the incoming president has a choice: follow through on his promises, or pretend like the tweet never happened.
Bernie Sanders will appear in a town hall on CNN on January 9 at 9 p.m. ET, during which he will take questions regarding important issues and how he plans to address the Trump administration.
[Featured image by Ron Sachs/AP Images]
