Staff Reports
In a recent political powwow at the White House, President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) teamed up to rally support for their healthcare policies as they gear up for the 2024 general election. The duo’s appearance was an attempt to boost Biden’s popularity among progressives, who have been giving the president the cold shoulder since he took office, especially among the young voters under 35. With the 2024 race looming, Biden is doing the two-step to solidify his winning coalition from the 2020 election.
Taking the mic before Biden, Sen. Sanders gushed about how, thanks to Biden, the U.S. is finally “catching up” to other Western countries in providing healthcare for all Americans, despite the “greedy” pharmaceutical industry’s influence. He highlighted Biden’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices, warning that the progress would come to a screeching halt if former President Donald Trump and the Republicans swoop in to power in 2024.
As Biden stepped into the spotlight, he lauded Sanders for his role in healthcare reform, claiming that they’ve been “fighting this for 25 years” and finally managed to outdo the Big Pharma bullies, earning victory cheers from Bernie. The president then took a swipe at Trump for his plans to dismantle Biden’s Medicare initiatives and rejoiced in the decision that will chip away at national abortion protections, all while attempting to pivot the public’s attention away from his controversial immigration policies that Trump has been incessantly harping upon.
This wasn’t Biden’s first rodeo in pushing his healthcare agenda; just last week, he popped up in North Carolina, rubbing shoulders with Vice President Kamala Harris at another riveting healthcare gathering. At that event, Biden painted a vivid picture of families fretting over healthcare costs and the fear of facing financial ruin if a loved one falls seriously ill. But through it all, Biden claimed victory, crediting himself and the like-minded folks across the nation for making the Affordable Care Act the law of the land.
In the grand scheme of things, Biden and Sanders’ tag-team talk was just another maneuver to drum up support for the president’s healthcare platform ahead of the 2024 election. But with the political drama already unfolding, it seems like the battle lines are being drawn, and the stage is set for a showdown of epic proportions. Let the political theatrics begin!
Just a fun fact, Naomi Lim was a player in putting this report together.
