Remember when Donald Trump tweeted that there would be no cuts to "Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid?" So does Bernie Sanders, and he wants us all to bear this in mind as the Republic Congress prepares to gut all three.
Senator Sanders printed out a poster-sized version of this tweet and propped it up behind him during his intervention in the Senate's Obamacare debate.
This feels like a seriously viable tactic. The disadvantage of Trump's use of Twitter in place of talking to skeptical journalists is that he doesn't get asked hard questions in ways that force him to answer them. The advantage of Trump boiling down every policy to a definitive, 144-character statement is that these all fit neatly on camera-ready posters that can be hauled out and propped up as needed, making for fantastic TV.
I could easily see this being the first in a series of shots of politicians speechifying in front of Trump tweet screengrabs, and you won't even have to watch the speech to know what's going on: just read the tweet, and you'll know that Trump has reneged on another campaign promise. The visual simplicity and speed of this shot could really make for a remarkable anti-trumpist weapon.
Update: just as I posted this, Rob posted an excellent meme-generator based on this image. Try it!
“Millions of people voted for him on the belief that he would keep his word,” Sanders said on the Senate floor, referring to Trump’s promises during the election campaign.
“If he was sincere, then I would hope that tomorrow or maybe today he could send out a tweet and tell his Republican colleagues to stop wasting their time and all of our time. And for Mr. Trump to tell the American people that he will veto any proposal that cuts Medicare, that cuts Medicaid or that cuts Social Security.”
Me when I notice someone has subtweeted me [Gabriella Paiella/Twitter]
Bernie Just Printed a Gigantic Trump Tweet and Brought It to the Senate Floor
[Matt Novak/Gizmodo]
