Independent Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders used one of President Donald Trump’s tweets as a prop Wednesday when he called for a vote on $2,000 coronavirus stimulus checks.
Sanders took to the Senate floor and laid into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blocked unanimous consent for a stimulus check increase to $2,000, calling for a standalone vote on the subject. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders To Filibuster Defense Bill Override Unless Senate Votes On $2,000 Checks)
Bernie hits McConnell: “Let me just make it clear for the majority leader, that 10 out of the poorest 25 counties in the United States of America are located in Kentucky. So maybe my colleague.. might want to get on the phone and start talking to working families in Kentucky.”
— Michael McAuliff (@mmcauliff) December 30, 2020
Pointing out the fact that many in McConnell’s home state of Kentucky might need the relief a higher amount could provide, Sanders added, “I have a strong feeling that the people of Kentucky will respond no differently than the people of Vermont or New York.”
“Nobody here will disagree with Trump more times than I have, and yet here is what the Leader of the Republican Party says,” Sanders continued, calling the president an “unlikely ally” in the fight for higher direct payments. “He says $2000 ASAP.” (RELATED: ‘Bernie Sanders Is The Oracle’: John Kennedy Says Biden Is The Nominee, But Sanders Is Leading The Party)
“Nobody here will disagree with Trump more times than I have, and yet here is what the Leader of the Republican Party says. He says $2000 ASAP.” @BernieSanders on the Senate floor https://t.co/uHH8DwlgmD pic.twitter.com/w28Uhj4FZn
— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) December 30, 2020
“All that we are asking for is a vote. What is the problem?!” Sanders added, calling for the Senate to take up the issue again Thursday morning.
Sanders also attacked McConnell’s move to attach the repeal of Section 230 protections for social media platforms, saying that wasn’t what the American people cared about.
“Do you think that all over America people are saying, ‘My God, we have to repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, my God, that is a major national priority?'” Sanders asked, adding, “Nobody even knows what that is.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “Do you think that all over America people are saying, ‘My God, we have to repeal Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, my God, that is a major national priority’
Nobody even knows what that is.” pic.twitter.com/pW3zUI4aIe
— The Hill (@thehill) December 30, 2020