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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in an interview Thursday he wasn’t “absolutely certain” President Donald Trump would reject Medicare-for-all legislation, despite skepticism from MS NOW host Chris Hayes about the proposal’s chances of becoming law.
“Healthcare is a human right. We need Medicare-for-all, which is now supported by over 60% of Americans, probably 80-90% of Democrats,” he said.
Hayes interrupted.
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“But let me just stop you there, senator, because, I mean, obviously, I know you believe in this. I’ve looked at the polling. It’s very clear polling on Medicare-for-all has gone up,” Hayes said.
“It was very interesting that Abdul El-Sayed was attacked for a million things in that race, but not for that.
“But, I think you and I would agree, the odds of Donald Trump signing that into law, pretty small. … You’re going to have Senate and House, right?”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told MS NOW host Chris Hayes President Donald Trump may not veto Medicare-for-all legislation. (Tom Baker/Getty Images)
Sanders disagreed and pushed back at Hayes.
“Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it. Two points. Point No. 1: Trump has the constitutional right to veto if he wants to do it. But we have the constitutional right to represent the American people and to pass the damn thing and to show the American people that we are sick and tired of maintaining a broken system.
“No. 2. You know what? Donald Trump may be a bit crazy, but he is not stupid,” Sanders continued. “And he is a good politician. And if this guy looks out all over the country, and he says, ‘Oh my God, everybody knows the system is broken. You know what, what do I got to lose?’ So, I am not absolutely certain that Trump would not sign it.
“But whether he would or not, our job is to produce it. He wants to veto it, Republicans want to sustain that veto, that is their responsibility. The American people will see it.”
Sanders has been pushing for Medicare-for-all for years, and support for it has become more mainstream in the Democratic Party.
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Sanders argued that, either way, Democrats had an obligation to put forward a Medicare-for-all bill and send it to Trump’s desk. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Psychotherapist and author Jonathan Alpert told Digital in a statement that Sanders had been “giving the same speech for decades.”
“He knows how to tap into people’s frustrations, but calling health care a human right doesn’t automatically make Medicare-for-all the answer,” Alpert said.
“Now, Bernie is saying Trump ‘may be a bit crazy, but he is not stupid’ and calling him ‘a good politician.’ That’s quite a compliment coming from someone who’s spent years attacking Trump. Even Bernie seems to recognize what many Democrats refuse to admit: Trump is a skilled politician who knows how to read the public.
“And Bernie knows exactly what he’s doing,” Alpert continued. “He’s appealing to Trump’s ego, dangling the possibility of a historic political victory. It’s a clever bit of psychological maneuvering. Bernie may think Trump is crazy, but apparently he’s smart enough to know that flattering him might get him further than attacking him. Other politicians may want to take a cue from Bernie.”
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Sanders made the comments after Democrats’ wave of huge victories in Tuesday’s midterms, winning back control of the House and the Senate.
Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
