Bernie Sanders warns party not to focus solely on Trump, says 'Congress can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time'
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders came up with a witty answer when asked by moderator Rachel Maddow about the implications the ongoing impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump have on his campaign. Early to join the debate -- the fifth in the series -- Sanders said the Democrats could not afford to get “consumed" by Trump.
Calling the Republican a “pathological liar” and “likely the most corrupt in the modern history of America”, Sanders cautioned his Democratic rivals that they cannot fight the 2020 election just by targeting Trump. He said: “But we can not simply be consumed by Donald Trump. Because if we are, you know what? We are going to lose the election. Right now, you’ve got 87 million people who have no health insurance or are underinsured. We are facing the great existential crisis of our time in terms of climate change. You’ve got 500,000 people sleeping out on the street and $18 million paying off of limited income.”
'Need to take care of the country's needs even while fighting Trump'
Sanders then added that the American people can understand that the “Congress can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time”. He elaborated to say that even while taking on Trump’s corruption, the country needs to do what it can for the working class. He also said America’s political system is broken and its economy rigged -- by a handful of people located in the upper echelons.
Sanders also took a dig at Trump’s bizarre tweeting habits saying he was not in favor of keeping US troops abroad but even if he withdrew them, he would not do it at 3 am like Trump and take the entire world into confidence.
The Atlanta debate saw 10 participants as former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke has withdrawn from the race and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro failing to make himself eligible for the event.