Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joins PBS NewsHour Judy Woodruff to respond to President Trump's accusation that he and Senate Democrats are "obstructing" his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.



"If he wants to blame me for helping kill that bill, I accept that responsibility completely," Sanders quipped. The president said Tuesday that "The Republicans are not going to own it. We'll let Obamacare fail, and then Democrats will come to us."



"You have got a bill that’s a stinker, it shouldn’t go anyplace," he said about the Republican health care plan. "This bill was an absolute disaster. Its goal was primarily to give tax breaks to the rich and to large corporations, rather than to address the needs of the American people."





SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, I-Vt.: Well, what went wrong, Judy, is they brought forth a disastrous health care bill that had the support of all of 12 percent of the American people, that was opposed by the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the AARP.



And virtually every national health care organization understood that, when you throw 22 million people off of health insurance, when you cut Medicaid by $800 billion, when you raise premiums for older workers, when you defund Planned Parenthood, and you make it almost impossible for people with preexisting conditions to get the health care they need and can afford, you know what? You have got a bill that’s a stinker, it shouldn’t go anyplace.



And it didn’t go anyplace. And that’s a good thing for the American people. And I thank the millions of people who stood up and fought back and said that that legislation is not what this country is about.



JUDY WOODRUFF: So, when the president — he did criticize today the Republicans, but he also blamed Democrats and he said Democrats are obstructionists. They’re only about obstructing.



SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Well, if he wants to blame me for helping kill that bill, I accept that responsibility completely.



This bill was an absolute disaster. Its goal was primarily to give tax breaks to the rich and to large corporations, rather than to address the needs of the American people. If the president wants to blame me and anyone else for preventing 22 million Americans losing their health insurance, I accept that criticism.