On Thursday, actress and left-wing activist Susan Sarandon, who has criticized Democrats almost as harshly as Republicans over the past decade, said President Joe Biden needs to deliver on his COVID-19 stimulus promises or else face catastrophe in the 2022 mid-terms.
In a series of tweets, the Oscar-winning actress tagged Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Raphael Warnock, and Jon Ossoff asking that they uphold their promise to deliver Americans a $2,000 check.
“Where are the $2K checks you promised @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris @ReverendWarnock @ossoff? At a time when only 39% of Americans could afford a $1,000 emergency & over 15 million have lost employer-sponsored health insurance, the diff between $1,400 & $2K is a matter of survival,” she tweeted.
The actress said this as she shared a video mashup of Biden and other Democrats pledging to deliver those checks to Americans.
“If voters feel like Dems are pulling a bait and switch, don’t be surprised when they don’t show up in 2022 or 2024,” she later cautioned.
Where are the $2K checks you promised @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris @ReverendWarnock @ossoff? At a time when only 39% of Americans could afford a $1,000 emergency & over 15 million have lost employer-sponsored health insurance, the diff between $1,400 & $2K is a matter of survival. https://t.co/a8FUChHFin
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) February 4, 2021
When a Twitter follower argued that Democrats would be giving people $1400 on top of the previous $600, Sarandon said that would not bode well in future elections.
“Even if Dems meant $1,400 the entire time, the fact is that voters heard and were expecting $2,000 ‘IMMEDIATELY,’ not maybe $1,400 some time in late spring. Is it really worth it to lose Dem voters in 2022 and 2024 over $600?” she emphasized.
“Here we go… The Dems will lose votes when hardcore leftist ideologues like yourself tweet nonsense like this out…” responded the user.
“Got it. So if Dems lose in 2022 and 2024 it’s because I Tweeted and not because voters who desperately need $2,000 think they lied,” she shot back.
Even if Dems meant $1,400 the entire time, the fact is that voters heard and were expecting $2,000 "IMMEDIATELY," not maybe $1,400 some time in late spring. Is it really worth it to lose Dem voters in 2022 and 2024 over $600? https://t.co/HPex5Qy82A
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) February 4, 2021
Got it. So if Dems lose in 2022 and 2024 it’s because I Tweeted and not because voters who desperately need $2,000 think they lied. 👍🏻 https://t.co/HxUqPL0kfq
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) February 4, 2021
David Sirota of The Daily Poster agreed with Sarandon’s take.
“She’s right. I don’t care how super-slick you think your defense of a Democratic retreat on $2,000 checks is, nobody will buy it. People are facing starvation, eviction & bankruptcy. The party will deliver or it should expect a voter backlash. Sorry,” he said.
She's right. I don't care how super-slick you think your defense of a Democratic retreat on $2,000 checks is, nobody will buy it. People are facing starvation, eviction & bankruptcy. The party will deliver or it should expect a voter backlash. Sorry. https://t.co/YbeGwzTRlz https://t.co/NHDIX3euyZ
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) February 4, 2021
While Susan Sarandon stands strongly to the left-of-center on American politics, her position has been consistently misaligned with the mainstream Democratic Party. During the 2016 election, for instance, she endorsed Green Party candidate Jill Stein for president, arguing against Hillary Clinton.
“It wasn’t a protest vote. Following Bernie wasn’t a protest.” she told The Guardian. “Well, I knew that New York was going to go [for Hillary]. It was probably the easiest place to vote for Stein. Bringing attention to working-class issues is not a luxury. People are really hurting; that’s how this guy got in. What we should be discussing is not the election, but how we got to the point where Trump was the answer.”
“I did think she was very, very dangerous. We would still be fracking, we would be at war [if she was president]. It wouldn’t be much smoother. Look what happened under Obama that we didn’t notice,” she added.