Susan Sarandon Calls out Joe Biden Over ‘Bait and Switch’ on $2,000 Stimulus

Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon is calling out new President Joe Biden and other politicians for pulling a “bait and switch” over the upcoming round of stimulus checks. “Where are the $2K checks you promised [Joe Biden]
[Kamala Harris] [Reverend Warnock] [Jon Ossoff]?” she tweeted on Thursday. “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.”

“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 continued in another tweet. Sarandon, whose list of credits includes films like Thelma and Louise, Stepmom, and Dead Man Walking, backed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the most recent election.

Most recently, the Biden Administration celebrated a small win on the path to distributing the third round of stimulus checks. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed a budget resolution on Friday (Feb. 5) that would allow Democrats to muscle the bill through Congress without GOP support. Though Biden previously admitted he was willing to make certain compromises to meet GOP needs for his proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, the president swiftly changed his narrative during his speech before the Senate vote. “I think a lot of people are looking for the government for help,” he said in his remarks. “The way I see it, the risk is not if we go too big,” on the stimulus package. “It’s if we go too small.”

Throughout the week, the President met with both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, seeking some compromise so the government could present the bipartisan bill. Many in Washington agreed on the new stimulus bill amount but wanted a more targeted approach for recipients. Biden recently called out Republicans, proposing that their suggestions weren’t enough for people needing assistance. “Are we going to say to millions of Americans who are out of work — many out of work for six months or longer, who have been scared by this economic and public health crisis– ‘Don’t worry, hang on, things are going to get better?’” Biden said. “That’s the Republican answer right now. I can’t in good conscience do that. Too many people in the nation have already suffered for too long.”