Quick summary
• Senator Bernie Sanders criticized President Trump’s inaugural address for failing to address key issues such as healthcare, housing, and income inequality.
• Sanders highlighted that the U.S. healthcare system is “dysfunctional and wildly expensive,” with one in four Americans unable to afford their prescribed medications, yet Trump did not mention the issue.
• The senator noted the country’s major housing crisis, with 800,000 Americans homeless and many spending over half their income on housing, which Trump also ignored.
• Sanders emphasized that the U.S. has unprecedented income and wealth inequality, yet the growing gap between the rich and working-class Americans was not addressed in Trump’s speech.
• Trump immediately signed executive orders targeting immigrant families and rolling back policies, including a directive aimed at lowering prescription drug prices.
• Sanders called on Americans to remain focused on advocating for universal healthcare, affordable housing, climate action, and other key issues facing working families.
• The senator urged grassroots organization and pressure on Congress to push for policies that benefit working-class Americans, regardless of Trump’s actions or statements.
President Donald Trump’s inaugural address has drawn sharp criticism for failing to address the pressing concerns of working families in the United States. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued a pointed response, highlighting omissions in the president’s speech that he says are critical to the lives of millions of Americans.
In video remarks recorded shortly after attending the inauguration, Sanders criticized Trump for neglecting healthcare, housing, and income inequality—issues he characterized as central to the lives of working-class Americans.
“How crazy is that?” Sanders asked. “Our healthcare system is dysfunctional and it’s wildly expensive. Not one word from Trump about how he is going to address the healthcare crisis. We pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs—sometimes 10 times more than the people in other countries, and one out of four Americans are unable to afford the prescriptions that their doctors prescribe. Not one word in his speech on the high cost of prescription drugs.”
Sanders also called attention to the country’s housing crisis: “We have 800,000 Americans who are homeless and millions and millions of people spending 50 or 60% of their limited income on housing. We have a major housing crisis in America, everybody knows it—and Trump in his inaugural address did not devote one word to it.”
On the subject of income and wealth inequality, Sanders said, “Today in America, we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had… but Trump had nothing to say, not one word, about the growing gap between the very rich and everybody else.”
Upon taking office, Trump quickly signed executive orders targeting immigrant families and rolling back policies implemented by the Biden administration, including a directive aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. Critics argue that these actions are a stark contrast to Trump’s self-styled image as a champion of the working class.
Sanders called on Americans to remain focused on advocating for policies that benefit working families, such as universal healthcare, affordable housing, and climate action. “In the coming months and years, our job is not just to respond to every absurd statement that Donald Trump makes,” Sanders said. “Our job is to stay focused on the issues that are of importance to the working families of our country, and are in fact widely supported by the American people.”
Sanders emphasized the need for grassroots organization and congressional pressure, saying, “No matter how many executive orders he signs and no matter how many absurd statements he makes, our goal remains the same. We have got to educate, we have got to organize, we have got to put pressure on Congress to do the right things.”
To read the entire inaugural speech, click here.
COMMENTS