Bernie Sanders Tries ‘Gotcha’ Question In Confirmation Hearing, Immediately Regrets It
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tried his hand at a “gotcha” question with one of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees on Friday, only to see it blow up in his face.
Pontificating from his chair on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Sanders railed against a “small number of multi-billionaires who have enormous economic, media, and political power” before asking Treasury nominee Scott Bessent if he agrees with President Joe Biden’s assertion that democracy has fallen into the clasped hands of corporate robber barons.
“‘An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, and our freedoms,’” Sanders read from Biden’s Oval Office speech on Thursday night. “I agree with him. Do you?”
Bessent, a mild-mannered hedge fund investor, gently attempted to remind Sanders of their last conversation about tariffs and imports, policies more central to the Treasury than scolding wealthy Americans. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, who Sanders cited, “all made the money themselves,” Bessent responded.
“Mr. Musk came to the country as an immigrant,” he tried to explain before Sanders cut him off.
“I understand that!” said the socialist Democrat, waving his hands while making his point. “But when you have a handful of people like Musk, who will soon be part of the Trump administration, and others. When you have three people owning more wealth than the bottom half of American society, when these people have enormous amounts of influence over the media, when they spent huge amounts of money on both political parties to elect candidates. What Biden said last night is we’re moving toward an oligarchy.
“I’m asking you that question. Do you think – forget how they made their money – do you think that when so few people have so much economic and political power, that is an oligarchic form of society?” Sanders finished.
Bessent then dropped the hammer. “Well, I would note that President Biden gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two people who I think would qualify for his oligarchs,” a not-so-veiled reference to billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, prolific donors to Democrats.
“This is not a condemnation of any one individual,” Sanders stuttered, ignoring the fact he did just that to Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg minutes earlier. He tried once more with Bessent before moving on.
Bessent’s checkmate move harkened back to one made earlier this week by Pete Hegseth during a grilling from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). When the Massachusetts Democrat attempted to bait Hegseth into stating he wouldn’t lobby the U.S. military for 10 years after leaving office, citing a requirement for former generals, Hegseth left her briefly speechless.
“Senator, I’m not a general,” he smirked.
