Tonight Bernie Sanders gave his own response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, just after Trump’s speech finished. Sanders wasn’t the official Democrat response — that honor went to Rep. Joe Kennedy III. But Sanders’ response still drew a lot of excitement and interest. His response wasn’t broadcast on television. Rather, he broadcast his speech live on social media. You can watch the response in full in the video above.
Last year, Bernie gave a 14-minute long response in a video that he posted to Facebook that ended up with more than 8 million views on Facebook alone. This year’s speech was equally inspiring, as he called out Trump for promises from his campaign that weren’t kept, and called on the American people to keep fighting for the working class and people in need.
Why didn’t Sanders give the official Democratic response? It’s likely because he’s now an Independent again in Vermont. Kennedy and Sanders agree on some policies, but differ on some key political points, including cannabis. Kennedy is against marijuana legalization. Marijuana Moment reported that in 2015, JK3 (as he’s sometimes called) was one of 10 House Democrats to vote against a measure that would protect medical cannabis patients and providers from being prosecuted by the federal government. Meanwhile, Kennedy and Sanders both support the Affordable Care Act, but Kennedy isn’t quite as sure about single-payer. He says he supports single-payer in theory, but wasn’t sure about certain details in Coyners’ recent bill. Kennedy was also a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. Sanders ended up campaigning for Clinton and attending some rallies in support of her after he ended his campaign.
Elizabeth Guzman, a member of the Virginia state legislature, delivered a Spanish-language response, officially sponsored by the Democrats. Rep. Maxine Waters from California gave a response during a BET news special. And Donna F. Edwards, a former Maryland Congresswoman, gave an address for the Working Families Party.
What did you think of Bernie’s speech? Let us know in the comments below.