By Katherine Tinsley
3:27pm PDT, Jul 1, 2025
_
Bernie Sanders slammed
Donald Trump's controversial Big, Beautiful Bill on Monday, June 30, calling it a "death sentence" for many Americans.
Keep reading to see what he had to say…
MORE:
Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news
_
Bernie Sanders referenced a Yale and University of Pennsylvania study investigating how the bill will impact healthcare. "It's horrifying for me to say this … [it will lead to] unnecessary deaths of 50,000 Americans every single year," Sanders told MSNBC. "So in other words, this is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Americans in order to give tax breaks to billionaires, and if that is not obscene and disgusting, I don't know what is."
_
Donald Trump's signature legislation has been criticized for being a handout to the wealthy, and Bernie Sanders doubled down on the stance. "[This is] maybe the largest transfer of wealth from low income and working people to the top 1%, and as you indicated, we're talking about $1 trillion in tax breaks to the 1% and in the midst of all that, there's over $200 billion going to the top two-tenths of 1%," Sanders said. "Families that inherit more than $30 million — so this not just a gift to the 1%. I have to admit, they paid for it."
_
Bernie Sanders went on to discuss how billionaires are gaining power in the U.S. "This is what oligarchy is about and this is a reflection … about a corrupt campaign finance system. Why do you think billionaires provide huge amounts of money?" he said. "It's not just Republicans, it's Democratic billionaires as well. Why do you think they put all that money in? Because they love politics and the Democratic Party? It's cause they want something in return. And today is payback day. It's payback day for the billionaires who finance not only Trump but many Senate and House members."
_
Bernie Sanders noted that many Americans who will be negatively impacted by Donald Trump's policies have supported him. "As to why low-income and working people have voted for Trump in large numbers, I think that has to do with the failure of the Democratic Party to stand up for the working class in this country, and not giving ordinary people a real alternative. And that's something I should tell you, that some of us are working very hard to change," the senator concluded.
