Bernie Sanders stands by ‘fake border crisis’ comments, criticizes Trump’s deal with Mexico

By Jason Hopkins

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders dodged questions Sunday when explicitly asked if he would call the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border a “crisis.”

CNN host Dana Bash asked Sanders on “State of the Union” about a tweet he sent Wednesday in which he called the situation at the border a “fake border ‘crisis.’” Bash, however, noted that U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered over 144,000 illegal migrants in May, the highest number in 13 years.

“Border facilities are dangerously overcrowded. Migrants are actually standing on toilets to get space to breathe. How is that not a crisis?” Bash asked the Vermont senator. 

In response, Sanders accused President Donald Trump of wielding a political strategy that involves demonizing illegal immigrants and Muslims in order to divide the country. He then called for changes to asylum laws that bring in “a whole lot more legal staff and judges.” 

Bash interjected, asking again if he would call the situation a crisis.

“It is a serious problem, but it is not the kind of crisis that requires demonization of desperate people who in some cases have walked a thousand miles with chair children,” Sanders said. “It is an issue we have to deal with. The issue of climate change, the issue of tens of millions of Americans not having any health insurance, the fact that half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck — those are more serious crises.”

The exchange follows an agreement reached Friday between the Trump administration and the Mexican government.

Mexico has pledged to send thousands of security forces to its border with Guatemala, bolstering a region where most Central American migrants cross in their northbound journey, and it has agreed to expand an asylum program that keeps more Central Americans outside of the U.S.

In return, the White House will shelve plans to slap a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods imported into the U.S.

Sanders criticized Trump’s tariff threats with Mexico earlier in the CNN segment. The self-described democratic socialist chastised the president for confronting U.S. allies “every other day” and embarking on “verbal wars.” Instead, he called for comprehensive immigration reform and more legal protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.

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Image courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Follow

14 thoughts on “Bernie Sanders stands by ‘fake border crisis’ comments, criticizes Trump’s deal with Mexico

  1. In his latest push for universal healthcare, 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders argued that Americans would be “delighted to pay more taxes” if that meant guaranteed access to treatment.

    Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night, the socialist stalwart made the case for bringing a European-style healthcare system to the US.

    “I suspect that a lot of people in the country would be delighted to pay more in taxes if they had comprehensive health care as a human right,” Sanders told Cooper.

    “Your kids in many countries around the world can go to the public colleges and universities tuition-free, wages in many cases are higher,” Sanders continued. “So, there is a tradeoff, but at the end of the day, I think… most Americans will understand that is a good deal.”

    Though Sanders cited Germany as an example of an ideal healthcare system, there are some key differences between the German model and the ‘Medicare for All’ plan advocated by Sanders. The German system is a multi-payer system funded by private and public sources. ‘Medicare for All,’ at least in its current iteration, is a single-payer system that would bar employers from providing competing private alternatives and could eliminate America’s $600 billion private insurance industry.

    Medicare for All is a generous package that comes with a hefty price tag. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget – a supposedly non-partisan think tank – puts the price at $28 trillion, or nearly ten percent of the US’ GDP. Sanders’ own estimate turns out a cost of $13 trillion over ten years, still a roughly 30 percent increase in federal spending and an outlay more than 18 times larger than even the US military’s astronomical annual budget.

    Americans largely support the idea of Medicare for All, with 70 percent in favor of a single-payer system, according to a Reuters poll taken last August. However, support for such a system drops off to 37 percent once they learn it would necessitate a massive tax hike to implement.

    The sheer cost to the taxpayer of overhauling the US healthcare system has been trumpeted by conservatives to dismiss Sanders’ proposal. To date, Sanders has not managed to clarify exactly how this money would be raised. A paper released by his office in April suggested foisting some of the tax burden on employers, applying a premium to middle class households, increasing taxes on the wealthy, and imposing levies on financial institutions and offshore accounts.

    Sanders maintains that these tax hikes would cut the country’s overall healthcare expenditure and leave the average American family “in a better financial position than they are under the current system.”

    • My German-born wife and her relatives would disagree with Sanders’ assessment of both health care and post-secondary education; he’s not telling the whole story on either issue.

      When I was leaving Hamburg after being stationed there for 18 months, I went to the hospital to say farewell to my 91 year old neighbor. When I opened the door to her room (because none of the staff could be bothered to escort me there – they were all on a break at the same time), there were a total of six very elderly patients crammed side-by-side in a tiny room.

      Hospitals are basically immune to lawsuits; if a mistake is made that results in patient death, the relatives have 24 hours to have an independent autopsy performed by another institution. Even then, they’re limited to a 3500 Euro payment should the autopsy indicate wrongful death.

      There’s much more, but the lemmings cheering Sanders don’t care about the truth – they just envision everything being free for them. They’re not going to like the outcome when they get what they’re begging for.

  2. Babbling Bernie did his best to avoid the question as he usually does when he’s caught or has to explain his position. Keep donated all you commie socialist, keep donating. He needs your money to live comfortable while laughing at all you fools.

  3. This man is a wacko ! A lying wacko ! But his minions follow him – Those with the mentality of the Jonestown folks. Same-O; Same-O.

  4. I wish all the media would just stop publishing anything and everything from the communist.

    • I agree, and for my part, I’ll be glad when he and his anti-American views are GONE!

  5. So burnee is in full support of a Regressive Drug Cartel controlled government who has
    very little concern for IT’s OWN people and utilizes our southern border as a means to
    expel it’s criminals and UNwanted plus deal in “human Trafficking and drugs to feed
    the cartels. The highest number of invaders have crossed in 13years but to burnee nothings
    wrong, and we shouldn’t aggravate our good friends. The ol commie fossil must think all
    people are as brain dead as his following of the hammer and sickle crowd. Don’t look
    at the border people lookie at all the Free $hit I can getcha…..

  6. Because he and his fellow Leftists have done zip to stem the flow of Illegal aliens,er future commiecrat voters.

    • You are exactly correct! Since the Democrats have lost the support of the working class, middle America, the black American community, veterans and the list goes on; They are now attempting to change the demographics of our country so as to stay in power.

      In the end, the will all be voted out of office or be responsible for a second civil war in this country.

  7. The leading Democrat contenders are a joke.

    None of them have not a snow ball’s chance in hell once Trump starts campaigning

    He will be much better the second time around.

    The Dems only game is to slime Trump no matter what he does, good or bad.

  8. Gee, Bernie does not understand having about 20 million illegals in the US, requiring many federal and state programs to help them make it in the US, including a lot of them criminal repeat offenders, costs a lot of money.

    It is one of the main reasons US-born, legal citizens do not have free healthcare and free higher education.

    He must know money does not grow on trees. It is stolen from already-struggling, hardworking Joe and Jane Worker trying to make ends meet in Vermont’s near zero real growth economy.

    • “Jane Worker”
      Might be the wrong name to use when talking about our very own commie.
      His Jane only worked on making a affordable collage disappear, while
      enriching her bank account.

  9. Hey Bernie, How many will be have to deal with before you wake up to reality?????? 500,00 /week, 500,000/day/ 500,00/hour?

  10. Vermont’s Socialist Buffon, does anyone really care what he thinks or says
    just more rhetoric from a fool spewing his BS……..

    Hey, Bernie your not a democrat and your not going to get the NOD from the DNC.

    Sander’s Vermont’s political cancer !!

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