Cheat Sheet: Sanders rallies in coal country to help miners

Mere months ago, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Party candidate Bernie Sanders were drawing massive crowds and appealing to millions, despite not being the most popular choice by their own party, according to some polls.

Trump, a political outsider, was opposed by all other Republican candidates during the race, while Sanders created a grassroots campaign, propelled largely by the initial interest of millennials.

Despite having radically different views on how the country should be run, both ran on a populist message. Sanders was defeated by Hillary Clinton in the primaries.  Trump was later elected to be the 46th President of the United States.

However, despite the general election having ended months ago, Sanders is continuing to openly disagree with Trump and continuing to find solutions for the common man across the country.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said Sunday at a town hall in one of West Virginia’s poorest counties that the Senate will be able to defeat the House Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act. The new proposal is said to provide enormous tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, while increasing the cost for the poor.

The Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act, which adds health care coverage to 20 million people, would leave five to 10 million people without coverage including thousands of West Virginians, Sanders said.

Additionally, it would provide an estimated nearly $300 billion in tax breaks to the top two percent of Americans, according to Sanders.

“Instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires, I think we need to ask them to pay their fair share,” Sanders said.

Sanders also spoke about Global Warming and how more can be done to protect the environment, while also praising multiple coal miners in the audience.

“These guys are heroes,” Sanders said. “I grew up in a rent-controlled apartment house in Brooklyn, New York, and I will never forget the piles of coal. I don’t know if it came from here or where it came.”

While acknowledging that President Trump has said repeatedly he would bring back coal mining jobs, which he has yet to put forth legislation to do so, Sanders stated the possibility of bringing other jobs to the area that would pay just as well, and if those in the audience would be content with those jobs as opposed to staying in the dying coal business.

Additionally, Sanders pointed out that Senate Republicans are currently holding back legislation to provide miners with health care and pension benefits.

Despite Sanders’ rally in West Virginia, President Trump recently stated on Monday that he is now ready to turn his focus back to coal miners.

After having focused thus far on other topics during his first two months in office, such as health care and the immigration ban, Trump plans to spend time bringing back coal – a big campaign promise he made during the general election.

“As we speak we are preparing new executive actions to save our coal industry and to save our wonderful coal miners from continuing to be put out of work. The miners are coming back,” Trump told a rally in Louisville, Kentucky.