Bernie Sanders Seethes US Has Become 'Oligarchic Society' Following Trump Speech

Democrat Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders didn’t mince words Tuesday night as he lashed out at what he called an "oligarchic society" in the United States, following President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress.

"The Trump administration is not hiding it," Sanders stated in his fiery response, streamed live after the speech. "The Trump administration is a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class. Notwithstanding some of their rhetoric, this is a government that could care less about ordinary Americans and the working families of our country. My friends, we are no longer moving toward oligarchy. We are living in an oligarchic society."

Trump's speech, delivered late Tuesday, marked his first address to a joint session of Congress since his return to the Oval Office earlier this year. With characteristic bravado, Trump touted his administration's rapid-fire executive orders, efforts to secure the southern border, and his tariff policies. Kicking off his speech with his signature confidence, Trump proclaimed, "To my fellow citizens, America is back."

He went on to boast, "Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden Age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started."

Sanders, however, wasn’t buying it. He accused Trump of peddling "lies" during his address. "Trump has claimed that millions of undocumented people voted and do vote in American elections — a lie," Sanders said. "Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax originating in China — a lie. Trump has claimed that Ukraine started the horrific war with Russia — a lie. And tonight, just tonight, Trump claimed that millions of dead people between the ages of 100 and 360, were collecting Social Security checks. And that is an outrageous lie intended to lay the groundwork for cuts to Social Security and dismantling the most successful and popular government program in history."

The Vermont senator didn't stop there. He also criticized the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, for targeting federal agencies to combat overspending and fraud. Sanders argued that Musk and the administration were taking aim at the livelihoods of federal workers. "For the past several weeks, he and his good friend Elon Musk, who was up there in the audience tonight, have been throwing hundreds of thousands of federal employees off their jobs," Sanders said.

He painted a grim picture of the future, warning about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence and robotics in the workforce. "If Musk and his friends can arbitrarily throw federal workers out on the street today, what do you think that Musk and his fellow billionaires will be doing tomorrow, when artificial intelligence and robotics explode in this country? Do you think they'll give a damn about you and your families? No, they will treat you exactly the way they're treating federal employees today."

Sanders’ passionate remarks are sure to fuel further debate as the divide between Trump’s vision of a "golden age" and Sanders’ warnings of oligarchy continue to dominate political discourse.