Bernie Sanders appeared at town halls over the past week to talk about a range of topics, including jobs, infrastructure and healthcare.
At the town hall in McDowell County, West Virginia, which was broadcast on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” Monday, Senator Sanders told a crowd of President Trump supporters that “healthcare is a right.” The crowd cheered.
Sanders’ other views, such as the reality of climate change and free higher education, were also well received. This is coming from a rural county where 75 percent of its voters voted for Trump.
During a particular segment, Sanders talked about climate change in relation to coal mining, a hot topic in a county with a high population of coal miners. Sanders stated that he didn’t hold individual coal miners responsible, stating that even he had depended on coal in his “rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn.” He went on to state, “You guys are my heroes.”
Sanders said that there needs to be better development and job creation in the renewable energy industry in order to move coal miners to work in an energy industry that won’t contribute to climate change. “We can do this,” he said.
When asking one coal miner, “Do you believe that healthcare is a right?” the Trump supporter responded, “Yes, I do.” This was also greeted with cheers.
Sanders further discussed health care in regards to the miners, discussing the problems of retired miners who suffer from health problems related to a lifetime of mining coal. Most of these individuals continue to lack pensions and healthcare benefits due to the GOP’s fight against spending money to take care of retired miners.
As a retired miner in the crowd stated, “I think it’s ironic that a senator from the Northeast takes care of my benefits better than someone like Mitch McConnell.”
Sanders also told the crowd that the new GOP Health Care Bill “Is not health care.”
Senator Sanders also met with some West Virginians one-on-one:
Must Watch: @BernieSanders talks one on one with to Paula Swearengin, resident of Beckley, WV #AllInWithBernie #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/KSm7MdX5MZ
— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) March 13, 2017
Trump may have been elected president but Bernie Sanders is still winning the support of the people with his efforts to promote progressive change.
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