Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addressed critics who say he only got involved in politics in hopes of one day becoming president, writing on Twitter Thursday, “I got into politics because I give a damn.”

Sanders, who has been in politics for decades and is now in the midst of his second presidential run, told his 9.6 million Twitter followers Thursday that he did not get into politics just to become president.

“I did not get into politics to figure out how to become president,” Sanders wrote. “I got into politics because I give a damn”:

I did not get into politics to figure out how to become president. I got into politics because I give a damn. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 5, 2019

Sanders has largely built his campaign on sweeping promises designed to “restructure” the way ordinary Americans live and operate, unveiling plans to overhaul the healthcare industry, fossil fuel business, and educational system.

As Breitbart News reported:

Energy choices will be limited if Sanders manages to implement his $16 trillion Green New Deal proposal, which plans to reach “100 percent renewable energy for electricity and transportation by no later than 2030 and complete decarbonization by at least 2050.” He aims to “fully electrify and decarbonize” the transportation sector and expand existing entitlement programs such as the Low -Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by billions– $25 billion and $311 billion, respectively. Health care – one of the issues Sanders is most well-known for – would radically change if Sanders’ Medicare for All dreams become a reality. Aside from the changes in quality of care, some estimates suggest that it will cost American taxpayers $32 trillion over the next 10 years alone. Sanders admitted that middle-class Americans would see their taxes go up in order to help cover the cost of the government-run health care overhaul. While Sanders promises to eliminate college debt, provide tuition-free universities, and provide more support for teachers, all of those proposals come at a price. While Sanders – along with his ideological counterparts, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) – has promised that the U.S. will pay for his radical proposals, in part, with takes hikes on the rich, the burden will not escape the middle class or poor. The radical transformations will certainly alter customer behavior and affect the economy as a whole– from the top to bottom.

Sanders has been under fire in recent days after telling attendees at CNN’s seven-hour climate change town hall Wednesday that he is willing to talk about population control, putting an emphasis on increasing access to abortion around the world.

“Would you be courageous enough to discuss this issue [population control] and make it a key feature of a plan to address climate catastrophe?” an attendee asked.

“The answer is yes,” Sanders said, pointing to the Mexico City agreement.

“And the Mexico City agreement, which denies U.S. aid to those organizations around the world that are – that allow women to have abortions or even get involved in birth control is totally absurd,” he said.

“So I think especially in poor countries around the world, where women do not necessarily want to have large numbers of babies and where they can have the opportunity to birth control to control the number of kids they have is something I very, very strongly support,” he added.