Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) participated in a MSNBC town hall on Sunday afternoon where he claimed that "a whole lot" of people "will die" if Republicans repeal Obamacare.
The town hall, which was filmed on Sunday afternoon and aired Monday night, took place in McDowell County, W.Va. and focused on health care and other issues that local residents cared about.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes asked Sanders what he thought about the Republican proposal to replace former President Obama's landmark health care law and how it would affect the people on Medicaid in McDowell.
"My view is different than most in Congress. I happen to believe that health care is a right and we should move toward a 'Medicare for All' plan," Sanders said.
Sanders pointed out that President Donald Trump won West Virginia by a landslide, following up by claiming that "a whole lot" of people will die if Obamacare is repealed.
"If Obamacare is repealed, we are looking at hundreds of thousands of people who got Medicaid extension losing that. And how many of those folks will die?" Sanders asked. "It is a lot. I don’t know exactly, but it is a whole lot."
Sanders continued his criticism of the Republican alternative to Obamacare by calling it a tax break for the rich.
"What really bothers me is that when you look at the Republican bill, it should not be seen as a health care bill because throwing millions of people off of health care is not health care legislation," Sanders said. "What it should be seen as is a huge tax break for the wealthiest people in this country."