Never mind the pandemic, when are you dropping out? Bernie Sanders gets a raw deal on ‘The View’

Democrat presidential contender Bernie Sanders got quite a hostile reception on ABC’s ‘The View’, with the hosts more interested in pressuring him to drop out than in his proposal to deal with Covid-19 by nationalizing healthcare.

Democrat presidential contender Bernie Sanders got quite a hostile reception on ABC’s ‘The View’, with the hosts more interested in pressuring him to drop out than in his proposal to deal with Covid-19 by nationalizing healthcare.

Sanders should have realized the fix he was in when ABC aired the promo announcing his upcoming live appearance, literally accusing him of “politicizing this pandemic to push his agenda of Medicare for All” and implying his staying in the race could “guarantee” President Donald Trump another term.

Things went no better once Sanders Skyped into the show from his home in Burlington, Vermont, only to have to disconnect due to technical problems with the sound. Host Whoopi Goldberg – an outspoken supporter of Joe Biden, former vice-president and the preferred candidate of the Democrat establishment – pressured Sanders to explain why he is not dropping out of the presidential race.

“Last I heard, people in a democracy have a right to vote, and they have a right to vote for the agenda that they think can work for America,” Sanders responded.

While Sanders bashes Trump as much – or maybe more – as Biden does, the key platform that sets him apart is his plan to establish nationalized healthcare. Medicare is currently the government-run healthcare assistance program for senior citizens, and Sanders wishes to expand it into a de facto national health service, along the lines of the UK’s NHS.

True to the promo, host Sunny Hostin wondered if Sanders was “using” the pandemic to push his agenda, but actually asked the question about his proposal in a fair manner once the connection was re-established. Her colleague Sara Haines, however, insisted on “pushing back,” saying that socialized healthcare means long wait times for treatment. 

Sanders was allowed to make his case – that the primary purpose of the US healthcare system is to make billions for insurance companies and healthcare providers, not to actually provide care for people. Medicare for All is “not a radical idea, it does what every other major country on Earth does: it guarantees healthcare to all of our people not tied to employment,” he argued.

Ironically, the current system – under which employers are expected to provide health insurance as a benefit – arose as a side effect of WWII wage caps established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democrat who radically transformed the US government and expanded social programs during his 1933-1945 tenure.  

This is not the first time ‘The View’ has carried water for the Democrat establishment. Some viewers may recall Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) having to defend herself against Hillary Clinton’s absurd allegations that she was a “Russian asset,” which host Joy Behar took at face value back in November 2019.

The show’s treatment of Sanders, from the promo to the questions, did not go unnoticed by the senator’s supporters and some critical journalists, who panned ‘The View’ for its partisanship and unethical behavior.

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