Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Monday said he’s taking incoming fire in the 2020 Democratic presidential race because he’s “not the socialist” - a reference to Sen. Bernard Sanders, one of his top rivals.
Mr. Biden said at a fundraiser in Florida that he’s getting “beat up because I’m not the socialist,” according to a pool report of the event.
“I’m not the one promising Medicare for All, which by the way costs $34 trillion over 10 years,” he said.
Mr. Biden said his health care plan, which includes a public health insurance option, “is $720 billion over ten years. We can afford that, without raising your taxes.”
Mr. Biden, who has been slipping in some of the recent polling on the 2020 Democratic field in early states like Iowa, also targeted the “Medicare for all” vision championed by candidates like Mr. Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a separate fundraiser in Palm Beach Gardens.
“We don’t have to spend 35, 34 trillion dollars in 10 years to get Medicare for All,” he said. “Notice the last debate they’re all now adopting the Biden plan, Medicare for those who want it. You can keep your insurance, you can do a whole range of things, we do this all, these things we can do.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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