Rails against ‘cult of the individual’
By Paul Bean
In an interview yesterday (6/29) on MSNBC, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont referred to the Republican Party as a “Stalinist party” and compared Donald Trump to former USSR Dictator Joseph Stalin.
Sen. Sanders’ remarks come amidst ongoing political tensions and the fallout from Senator Thom Tillis’s decision to vote against the Trump-backed ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’
“The Republican Party has not just become a right-wing extremist party. In many cases, it’s become like a Stalinist party, a cult of the individual,” Sanders stated during the interview. “What the party is about now is that Trump says something and if you have an independent thought, if you disagree with Mr. Trump, if you think maybe what he’s proposing doesn’t work for your constituents, you’re out of here.”
Sanders pointed to potential repercussions for those who disagree with Trump, noting, “In five minutes, they will be announcing a primary to your election.”
This comment was in reference to the situation involving Senator Tillis of North Carolina, who recently announced he would not seek re-election after voting against the Big Beautiful Bill supported by President Donald Trump. “So what happened is Tillis thought that this was a bad piece of legislation for North Carolina. He’s right. It was. And the result of that, as Trump said, ‘Good, we’re going to primary you,'” Sanders explained.
“You have the same thing in the House with very few people who are prepared to disagree with Trump. Right now, the Republican Party, people are just afraid to dissent,” Sanders said.
“All you have to do is say, ‘I love President Trump. I will do anything and everything he says.’ Hey, that’s what being a candidate in the Republican Party is today. Pretty pathetic,” Sanders concluded.
“I do not agree with N.C. Senator Thom Tillis on much. But he’s right on this,” Sanders wrote on X yesterday afternoon. “Trump’s Republican Party does not allow for independent thought. The Republican Party today is a cult. Either you do as Trump wants, or you’re out. Pathetic.”