Bernie Sanders ramped up an attack on Donald Trump on Sunday as he campaigned in Lordstown, Ohio, where General Motors has a languishing factory it's likely to close permanently.
Sanders attacked 'tough guy' president at forum for his part in the government shutdown earlier this year, family separations at the border and the area plant closure.
'You're really tough on them,' he said sarcastically of Trump's attitude toward corporate America. 'Well let's see how tough you are. Tell General Motors today, no more federal contracts'
He said, 'Mr. president, I know how tough you are, snatching babies from the hands of their mothers. Well let's see how tough you are taking on corporate America,' Sanders said.
Bernie Sanders ramped up an attack on Donald Trump on Sunday as he campaigned in Lordstown, Ohio, where General Motors has a languishing factory it's likely to close permanently
For days, the U.S. Senator vying for the Democratic presidential nomination has been calling Trump a 'pathological liar' in states that went for the Republican throughout the Midwest.
He claimed in a Lordstown version of his remarks that Trump is 'not just a pathological liar, but he is a fraud' and a 'demagogue' who's fanning the flames of divisiveness.
Sanders said, in response to a question from a woman whose family had been affected by GM's restructuring proposal, 'You're job is to do exactly the opposite, it is to bring people together.'
He had been interrupted by a Trump supporter moments before, who screamed loudly that Sanders is a 'socialist' as security carried him out of the venue, the auditorium of the local high school.
The man's outburst followed a complaint by another man in the audience that Trump did not come to Lordstown to hear directly from workers losing their jobs.
'He didn't come to visit. He did nothing but come here and lie to these people,' he said.
Sanders told him that the federal government 'has a lot of leverage' and it could punish companies like GM by denying them future contracts.
He said that profitable plants should not be allowed to 'throw people out on the street' and be rewarded with favorable federal action.
The forum hosted by the American Federation for Teachers' national chapter provided a ready-made opportunity for Sanders to blast big businesses and financial institutions for robbing Peter the factory worker to pay Paul the investor.
Sanders said Wall Street's 'illegal actions' in 2007 and 2008 brought about 'the worst economic downturn' since the Great Depression and 'destroyed our economy, resulting in millions of people losing their jobs and their homes,' and despite his opposition in Congress, companies such as GM received $50 billion bailouts.
Their thank you is to lay off workers in Lordstown and other factories around the country a decade later, he argued.
'To say the least, that does not show a lot of love and gratitude from Wall Street,' he declared. 'Whether they like it or not, they will be good corporate citizens.'
The Lordstown plant that General Motors operated stopped making the Chevy Cruze in March. It has been closed ever since. Workers are hopeful it will be reopened before operations come to a full halt in September.
They believe GM may be engaging in scare tactics to get union to back off of their demands. Several said Sunday that they want GM to bring another car to the plant for production.
GM announced the plant closure last November. It has since pledged to invest $13 billion in U.S. production by 2022. It is inviting the 2,800 Lordstown workers losing their jobs to relocate to
