President Donald Trump has come out against Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-V.t.) plan for a single-payer healthcare plan, vowing to veto the bill in the extremely unlikely chance that it reached his desk.
“Bernie Sanders is pushing hard for a single payer healthcare plan – a curse on the U.S. & its people…,” Trump said in a series of tweets. “…I told Republicans to approve healthcare fast or this would happen. But don’t worry, I will veto because I love our country & its people.”
…I told Republicans to approve healthcare fast or this would happen. But don’t worry, I will veto because I love our country & its people.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017
This started a Twitter war between Trump and Sanders, with the Vermont senator quickly firing back.
“No Mr. President, providing health care to every man, woman and child as a right is not a curse, it’s exactly what we should be doing,” Sanders wrote. “What is a curse is your support for throwing 23 million off health insurance. That’s the curse and we won’t allow you to get away with it.”
No Mr. President, providing health care to every man, woman and child as a right is not a curse, it’s exactly what we should be doing. https://t.co/sNeq6YZHDw
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 14, 2017
Sanders unveiled his “Medicare For All” bill on Wednesday, which is unlikely to gain much momentum in a Republican-held Congress. However, the bill has gained popularity among several prominent Democrats, including Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and more than 30 others, making it somewhat of a litmus test for any Democrat who has thought about challenging Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave somewhat of a premonition of Trump’s response to Sen. Sanders’ plan on Wednesday when she said the president thought single-payer healthcare was a “horrible idea.”
Despite Trump condemning single-payer healthcare, Americans appear to feel differently about it. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 53 percent of Americans support a national healthcare plan, and a Pew Research Center poll found 60 percent of Americans thought the government had a responsibility to provide healthcare coverage for all.
