Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) visited Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) Detroit district over the weekend and used the opportunity to campaign in front of empty pantry shelves, creating an awkward situation for the socialist senator, as depictions of empty store shelves tend to be associated with the reality of the progressive ideology he routinely touts.
The far-left “Squad” member officially endorsed Sanders over the weekend during his stop in her Detroit district, endearingly referring to him as “Amo Bernie,” which means “uncle” in Arabic.
“I’m endorsing Amo Bernie Sanders because he understands that it’s not just about policies and words but it’s going to be also about completely transforming the structures in place that is hurting American people,” Tlaib stated, adding that Sanders is “not going to sell us out.”
At one point during Sanders’ tour of the district, the presidential hopeful delivered remarks at the Brightmoor Food Pantry in Detroit, which is reportedly running out of bottled water due to families flocking to the pantry. The city has turned off the water for an increasing number of Detroit families due to their inability to pay the bills, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“Here in this campaign, we hear the word socialism a lot. Well, what this is a perfect example of is socialism for billionaires, massive amounts of subsidies and tax breaks,” Sanders said, allowing the empty shelves to serve as his backdrop.
“But for children, there’s not enough money for a decent education and for poor people, there’s not an ability to get clean drinking water,” he added.
Some on social media could not help but point to the irony, as empty shelves have become a hallmark of socialism, demonstrating the harsh realities of the ideology Sanders openly embraces:
“Symbolic representation of starvation,” one Twitter user responded.
“Socialism, the best way to help americans with their overweight problems!” another joked.
“Poor staging. Someone needs to be fired,” another added.