Bernie Blasts Trump At 'No Kings' Protest But Names 3 Other Billionaires As Part Of The Problem

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivered a damning speech Saturday in Washington, D.C. in support of the nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump, and named several other billionaires he said have “hijacked” America’s economy and political system.

The progressive icon began by noting the U.S. was founded in inherent opposition to authoritarian rule, and that the nation’s first president George Washington called it “an experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people” when he was sworn in.

Sanders slammed Trump for putting this experiment “in danger,” citing his deployment of U.S. troops across the country and disregard for due process, but said the problem isn’t just “one man’s greed, one man’s corruption or one man’s contempt for the Constitution.”

“This is about a handful of the wealthiest people on Earth who in their insatiable greed have hijacked our economy and our political system in order to enrich themselves at the expense of working families throughout this country,” Sanders continued Saturday.

He clarified, “Yeah, I am talking about Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and the other multibillionaires who were sitting right behind Trump when he was inaugurated. Remember that? The very same billionaires who funded his campaign, who have bestowed gifts upon him and who have seen huge increases in their wealth and power since Trump took office.”

All three of the billionaires Sanders named Saturday, as well as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook, attended Trump’s inauguration. The latter recently visited Trump at the Oval Office and presented him with a gift after announcing a lucrative deal.

Sanders further excoriated Musk for being “on his way to becoming a trillionaire” while all of this is happening, and once again decried that “the richest country in the history of the world” appears to be actively destroying its already lacking healthcare system.

“So today, right now, I say to my Republican colleagues, come back from your month-long vacation,” Sanders said Saturday. “Start negotiating and do not allow the American health care system to be destroyed. End this shutdown.”