Charles and David Koch, the Republican megadonors, drew very different responses from two of the most high-profile politicians on either side of aisle early this week.
Late Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thanked the Koch brothers for backing a study that found his “Medicare For All” healthcare plan would save the country trillions of dollars.
The study was commissioned by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, which gets money from the Koch brothers, the Hill reports.
“Thank you, Koch brothers, for accidentally making the case for Medicare for All!” Sanders said in a tweet that was accompanied by a video.
Thank you, Koch brothers, for accidentally making the case for Medicare for All! pic.twitter.com/speuEL6ETC
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 30, 2018
“Let me thank the Koch brothers, of all people, for sponsoring a study that shows that Medicare for All would save the American people $2 trillion dollars over a ten-year period,” Sanders says in the video. “I suspect that that is not what the Koch brothers intended to do, but that is in the study of the Mercatus Center, an organization that is significantly funded by the Koch brothers.”
The Medicare-for-all study was intended to highlight the high cost of the proposal, but showed that compared to overall health spending—despite the large price tag of $32.6 trillion over ten years—Medicare-for-all would be cheaper than the U.S.’s current healthcare spending.
Meanwhile, the megadonors also found themselves in the Twitter crosshairs of President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning.
The president tweeted on Tuesday that the brothers were against his agenda, calling them a “total joke” in the Republican party.
“The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made….,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets. “….them richer. Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn. They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I’m for America First & the American Worker – a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!”
The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas. They love my Tax & Regulation Cuts, Judicial picks & more. I made…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018
….them richer. Their network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn. They want to protect their companies outside the U.S. from being taxed, I’m for America First & the American Worker – a puppet for no one. Two nice guys with bad ideas. Make America Great Again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018
CNN reports that Trump’s tweets could be in response to speculation that the brothers, who are typically large donors for Republican candidates ahead of elections, may not spend as much ahead of the 2018 midterms.
When a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist is thanking the Koch brothers and a Republican is publicly blasting them, you know the political sphere has gotten weird.
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