On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) argued that in the debate over the debt ceiling, Republicans are not a party “that listens to the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce.”
Coons said, “The most important forcing mechanism is what happens on June 2. On the 2nd of June, 67 million Americans get their monthly Social Security checks. 90% of Americans over 65 — and they all vote and they all know how to reach their senator or congressmen — 90% of Americans over 65 get a monthly Social Security check. When they find out that they’re not getting that check, our phones will light up like a Christmas tree. The Republican Party of today is not a governing party that listens to the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce. They’re listening to Donald Trump, who ran up a lot of this debt, and who is cheering on default, which is profoundly irresponsible. We will all of us listen to senior citizens who pick up the phone and call us and say, what do you mean I’m not getting my check? June 1, the payments go out to doctors for Medicare and Medicaid. June 2, the payments go out to seniors for Social Security. That’s a forcing mechanism we can’t ignore.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett