RFK Jr. and Bernie Sanders Get Into Screaming Match Over Big Pharma
newrepublic.com
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused the Vermont senator of being in Big Pharma’s pocket.

Summary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused Bernie Sanders of taking millions from Big Pharma during a heated exchange, but Sanders refuted the claim, stating his donations came from workers, not corporate PACs.

Kennedy repeatedly insisted Sanders was the top recipient of pharmaceutical money in 2020, but financial data shows no corporate PAC contributions to Sanders.

Meanwhile, Kennedy has profited from anti-vaccine activism, earning millions from lawsuits and speaking fees.

The debate ended without Kennedy answering whether he would guarantee health care for all as HHS secretary.

  • 2ugly2live
    82•4 hours ago

    “And by the way, Bernie, the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies. It’s in Congress too,” Kennedy said. “Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests.”

    “Oh, no, no, no, no,” Sanders said, raising his hand to quiet the applause that erupted from the gallery. “I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives; not one nickel of PAC money from the pharmaceutical industry. They came from the workers.”

    RFK just kept saying it over and over again like Sanders didn’t address it. 1.5 million of the 200 million raised for his presidential campaign came from health care workers. And he still didn’t answer the question, only for Sanders to be told he’s battering the witness.

    Fucking hate this time line.

    • @TankovayaDiviziya
      7•2 hours ago

      It’s always been like that. It’s throwing mud and hoping it sticks.

    • @jordanlundM
      1•13 minutes ago

      Yup. When I make a donation, one of the lines is “Who do you work for?” But just because I donated doesn’t mean my employer or business category were the ones donating.