The independent Vermont senator, who ran a left-populist 2016 presidential campaign, prefaced his remarks by saying they should shock no one. After rattling through boilerplate talking points — he opposes Trump’s health care plan, opposes tax breaks to those on top, opposes climate change deniers — Sanders laid into Trump, citing a number of tactics the president is using to solidify his power.
The White House did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.
“Now what does it mean for our democracy,” Sanders said, “if we have a president who lies? All. Of. The. Time.”
It cheapens truth and makes it easier for American leaders and citizens to debate using “alternative truth,” Sanders said, flapping his hands above his head in air quotes. He said Trump’s claim that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in the last election, for instance, was a “blatant lie” that election officials across the country refuted.
But by casting doubt on the election system, Sanders said, Trump is delegitimizing future elections and sending a message to Republican governors to make it harder to vote — especially for people likely to support Democrats.
Trump is attempting to undermine many other American foundations, too, like the judiciary, Sanders said. His attacks on judges are more than mere “temper tantrums,” he said; they’re an attempt to erode the credibility of that entire branch of government.
Trump’s attacks on the media have the same goal: to tear down credibility, Sanders said. He quoted U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, who said earlier this year: “Better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”
“How does it happen that we have a president who attacks everyone … yet at the same time has nothing but nice things to say about Russian President Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian leaders?” Sanders asked.
He pointed out that when Trump was questioned about Putin’s alleged murders of journalists, Trump said: “He’s running his country and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country.”
The U.S. in the past has spent hundreds of millions of dollars promoting democracy in developing countries, Sanders said.
“If this country moves toward a more authoritarian society, what are we saying to people in the developing world — in Asia, Africa, Latin America — who are struggling to create democratic governments?”
The retort from leaders of countries where the U.S. is urging democracy might be, “‘Hey, that doesn’t exist in the United States,’” Sanders said. “Bad example.”
