Sanders: Most Workers Are ‘Living Paycheck to Paycheck,’ But Biden Should Win Because Economy’s ‘Really Doing Well’

On Monday’s broadcast of NBC’s “Late Night,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stated that while we have “60% of workers living paycheck to paycheck,” people should vote to re-elect President Joe Biden because the economy “is really doing well, unemployment, extremely low, we’re creating a whole lot of jobs, rebuilding manufacturing in America.”

In response to a question on why people should vote for Biden, Sanders said, “Look, this country faces enormous problems today, and we all know what they are. We’re talking about income and wealth inequality, we’re talking about 60% of workers living paycheck to paycheck, and we’re talking about the existential threat of climate change, enormous problems facing this country. But instead of focusing and providing solutions to those problems, what Trump is trying to do is get us to hate each other, based on where we were born or the color of our skin or our sexual orientation. And we just cannot allow that to happen. And then, on top of all that, you’ve got a guy in Trump who, during his presidency, gave massive tax breaks to the rich, at a time when we have unprecedented income and wealth inequality, it’s the last thing they need. This guy wants to throw tens of millions of people off of the health insurance that they have, he appointed anti-union members of his administration to make it harder for workers to form unions. And I’ll tell you, all over this country, women are fighting for the right to control their own bodies, he wants to take that away. So, that’s Trump.”

He continued, “And, on the other hand, in Biden, I’m not going to sit here — I ran against Biden, so I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I agree with everything Joe Biden is doing, I don’t, big time. But on the other hand, this is the first President in the history of the United States to walk on a picket line with workers, and that’s a pretty impressive thing. We’ve made some progress in lowering the cost of prescription drugs and taking on the pharmaceutical industry. The economy, as you’ve indicated, is really doing well, unemployment, extremely low, we’re creating a whole lot of jobs, rebuilding manufacturing in America. So, we’re beginning to move forward in the right direction. In my view, we have a lot, lot more to do, but the choice in this election is very clear. If you do not believe in democracy, if you really want to turn your back on the millions of men and women who fought to defend democracy, I guess Trump is your candidate. But if you believe in what this country is supposed to value, [which] is that we all come together as one people, we believe in the rule of law, Biden is your candidate.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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