Sanders on Coronavirus: ‘First Thing We Have Got To Do… Shut This President Up'

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said during the Democratic debate Sunday night the most important he would do to tackle the spread of coronavirus and save Americans lives, whether he becomes president or not would be to “shut this President up right now.”

“First thing we have got to do, whether or not I’m president, is to shut this President up right now, because he’s undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American people,” Sanders responded when asked the first question of the Democratic debate in Washington D.C. “It is unacceptable for him to be blabbering with un-factual information, which if confusing the general public.”

The coronavirus dominated the start of the Democratic debate, with Sanders ripping President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden laying out his plan to contain the outbreak

The Vermont Senator went on by taking the opportunity to promote “Medicare for All,” using the coronavirus outbreak as an example of why, he says, it’s necessary.

“This is an unprecedented moment in American history. Now, I obviously believe in Medicare for all. I will fight for that as president,” Sanders said. “But right now, in this emergency, I want every person in this country to understand that when you get sick, you go to the doctor. When you get sick, if you have the virus, that will be paid for. Do not worry about the cost right now, because we’re in the middle of a national emergency.”

He added: “Let’s be honest and understand that this coronavirus pandemic exposes the incredible weakness and dysfunctionality of our current health care system.”

Biden later in the debate pointed out that having Medicare for All would not help solve the coronavirus crisis. He gave the example of the Italy has its own form of government-run health care system hasn’t helped mitigate the spread of Coronavirus.

“With all due respect to Medicare for All, you have a single-payer system in Italy. It doesn’t work there,” Biden said. It has nothing to do with Medicare for all. That would not solve the problem at all.

We can take care of that right now by making sure that no one has to pay for treatment… No one has to pay for hospitalization because of the crisis, period. That is a national emergency, and that’s how it’s handled. It is not working in Italy right now, and they have a single-payer system,” he continued.