Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Republican Senator Calls Out Socialist Sanders For ‘Hypocrisy’ Over Personal Wealth

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Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma accused independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont of bias and hypocrisy at a United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing Sanders chaired on Wednesday.

Mullin accused Sanders of hypocrisy for attacking former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s wealth despite being wealthy himself at a hearing about alleged union-busting that featured testimony from Schultz. Sanders characterized him as “the multibillionaire founder and director of Starbucks who is with us this morning only under the threat of subpoena.”

“You and your wife have immense wealth, over $8 million,” Mullin declared. “And in fact, your quote on being wealthy and being a millionaire was, ‘Well, if you write a best-seller, you can be a millionaire too.'”

Mullin argued a rich bestselling author does not contribute as much to society as a CEO like Schultz. “Why is it that Mr. Schultz, who actually creates jobs — and the bestseller of a book isn’t creating any jobs — why is it that he’s corrupt, and you’re not?” he asked.

“If you are not part of a union, you’re also paying starvation wages?” Mullin further asked Sanders. “What hypocrisy. What bias. Chairman, you are chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. We shouldn’t have a biased approach, we should have what’s best for America and all those that want to thrive and work in it.”

When Mullin finished, Sanders said, “I think you got an all-time record here. You’ve made more misstatements in a shorter period of time than I have ever heard.”

“If I’m worth $8 million that’s good news to me,” Sanders shouted. “I’m not aware of it. That’s a lie. You’re probably looking at some phony right-wing internet stuff. It ain’t true. You should read beyond that. It is not true.”

Mullin said Sanders’ $8 million wealth is “public record,” but did not state where he got this information more specifically. However, Politico reported in 2017 that Sanders made $795,000 on a book advance he wrote after the 2016 presidential campaign and also reported Sanders’ net worth was at least $2 million in 2019.

Sanders recently went on a tour for his new book, “It’s OK To Be Angry About Capitalism,” where it cost $95 for front-row seats to his event in Washington, D.C., on March 1.