While Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) over the weekend downplayed talk of a second run for president in 2020, he did say that whoever does run to oppose President Donald Trump must be willing "to stand up to the one percent" and on Monday announced his plan to offer an official response after Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night.
"[Trump] will surely not be apologizing for the many lies he told American voters: how he promised to defend the interests of working people, but then sold them out to Wall Street and the billionaire class." --Sen. Bernie SandersThough Sanders told supporters in an email that nobody can predict exactly what Trump will say during his address, he said, "I'm absolutely certain what he will NOT be talking about. He will surely not be apologizing for the many lies he told American voters: how he promised to defend the interests of working people, but then sold them out to Wall Street and the billionaire class."
As he did last year, Sanders will deliver an official response shortly after the president's SOTU--streamed live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter--as a way to confront what he perceives as the dangerous road Trump is leading the country.
"The very bad news is that Donald Trump is president of the United States and he is pushing the most dishonest, reactionary and divisive agenda in modern American history," Sanders wrote in his email on Monday. "There is good news, however. And that is that, in an unprecedented way, we are witnessing a revitalization of American democracy with more and more people standing up and fighting back."
While cataloging a list of Trump's betrayals and broken promises, Sanders called on his supporters to keep their chins up. "Please remember," he concluded, "despair is not an option."
Watch it here: