Sen. Bernie Sanders had strong words for Tim Ryan on Tuesday after the Ohio congressman claimed that Sanders couldn’t know whether Union members would get better health care coverage under Medicare For All than from their union plan.
During Tuesday night’s Democratic primary debate, Sanders said his Medicare for all plan would provide comprehensive coverage — particularly “dental care, hearing aids, and eyeglasses” for senior citizens. Ryan interrupted, saying “but you don’t know that. You don’t know that, Bernie.”
“I do know,” Sanders snapped back. “I wrote the damn bill.”
The Vermont senator continued by saying that rather than putting money into health care, union members’ companies could instead direct that funding toward raising wages for workers.
Moments after Sanders’s line, stickers brandishing the line were being sold on the candidate’s Twitter account.
Don't tell me what's in Medicare for All. I wrote the damn bill! #DemDebate
Make a contribution and get our sticker now –> https://t.co/cGNDyKXZ5k
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 31, 2019
Filmed live at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Tuesday’s debate is the first of two, with the second coming Wednesday, July 31, beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET each night. CNN’s Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper are moderating both evenings.
Tuesday’s debate featured candidates Marianne Williamson; Tim Ryan; Amy Klobuchar; Pete Buttigieg; Bernie Sanders; Elizabeth Warren; Beto O’Rourke; John Hickenlooper; John Delany; and debate newcomer Steve Bullock, who did not meet the donor threshold to participate in NBC’s debate last month.
Watch the video below:
I wrote the damn bill! #MedicareForAll #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/4YtVuDbPWc
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 31, 2019
The debate is currently airing on CNN.