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Sanders Slams Trump for 'Bragging' About Millions of Americans Losing Healthcare

The Vermont senator was referring to a provision in GOP tax bill that repeals ACA individual mandate, potentially leaving 13 million more Americans without health insurance

Common Dreams staff

"Instead of bragging about more Americans without health insurance, we should join every other major country on Earth, guarantee healthcare for all people, and end the absurdity of paying twice as much per capita for healthcare, as every other major nation," Sanders said. (Photo: CNN/Screengrab)

In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed President Donald Trump for "bragging" about a provision in the GOP tax bill that could leave 13 million more Americans without health insurance and argued that the U.S. should instead be working toward guaranteeing healthcare to all Americans as a right.

"Instead of bragging about more Americans without health insurance, we should join every other major country on Earth, guarantee healthcare for all people, and end the absurdity of paying twice as much per capita for healthcare as every other major nation," the Vermont senator said.

Sanders was reacting to Trump's recent comments on the GOP tax bill's repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate. Trump claimed that the provision "essentially" repeals Obamacare, and insisted that he will "come up with something much better."

The Republican Party's previous healthcare push, Sanders was quick to note, resulted in a bill that would have thrown more than 20 million Americans off their health insurance.

Sanders' remarks came in a wide-ranging interview in which he also denounced Trump for lying about who benefits from his tax plan and said Republicans should be "very" worried about their 2018 electoral prospects, given the deep unpopularity of their tax legislation.

"What we're seeing in Alabama, what we're seeing in Virginia, New Jersey and in states all across this country, are large voter turnouts, are people standing up and fighting back and demanding that we have a government that represents all of us, not just the one percent."

The Vermont senator also denounced Congress's lack of action to protect Dreamers, calling it a "moral outrage."

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