DE State Sen-elect Sarah McBride slams Trump’s ‘complete disregard’ for the people: He’s an ‘authoritarian wannabe’

Sarah McBride, Delaware State Senator-elect, joins Yahoo Finance's Kristin Myers to discuss her milestone as the first openly transgender State Senator and break down what's needed from COVID-19 relief.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: Now, when Delaware State Senator-elect Sarah McBride won her election, she became the first openly transgender state politician in the country. So it's my pleasure to welcome Delaware State Senator-elect, Sarah McBride, to the show.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us today. You know, I talk a lot on Yahoo Finance about inclusion, but also about representation and how important it is for people to really see folks that look just like them, or are a part of their community in positions of power. And now, this 2020 election cycle was historic for a lot of reasons, which I'm not going to enumerate right now. But I'm wondering if you can tell us what this election and what your swearing in next week means for you and for your community.

SARAH MCBRIDE: Well, first off, it's wonderful to be on with you. I think I'm filled with gratitude. I'm filled with gratitude to the residents of the First Senate District who've entrusted in me the responsibility of representing them in the state Senate. I'm grateful to the team of volunteers and advocates and neighbors who spent so much time and energy helping us win this race.

You know, I didn't run to be a transgender state Senator, or to make history, or headlines. I ran to make a difference in my community. But I'm also mindful of the impact that my election could have for a young trans person here in Delaware, or elsewhere, who heard a slur around the dinner table, who was called names on the playground, but who was able to go to sleep that night on November 3 having seen this district here in Delaware elect an out transgender person. I know how much of a difference it would have made for me growing up.

And so my hope is that my election helps send a small but profound message to that young person. But I'm also mindful of the fact that diversity in government isn't a luxury and it's not just a symbolic message. We know we can't craft effective and efficient solutions for a diverse community if we don't have the full diversity of that community represented at the table. That's true in business, it's true in technology, and it's certainly true in public policy and government.

KRISTIN MYERS: So on that point, because you are obviously so much more than your identity, and people really should be judging you, your constituents should be judging you, on your policy ideas and on policy issues. So I want to start with stimulus right now, because I think that's one of the biggest things that folks are talking about around this country. Right now the stimulus proposal that we have-- or I really shouldn't even call it "proposal," it is now legislation-- folks are saying it's far too small and it came far too late. So on that point of $600 individual stimulus checks, what does that do for your constituents? And really, should Congress really be talking about those $2,000 stimulus checks, or perhaps more continued and sustained economic support throughout 2021?

SARAH MCBRIDE: Well, the stimulus package that was passed this past December was a start. The $600 checks are certainly not enough, particularly for so many of my constituents that are struggling with increased debt, with challenges that they're going to face when they have to pay their bills that have maybe been deferred throughout the pandemic. So making sure that we get those $2,000 checks to folks is critical.

But we also can't look past all of the other components of that stimulus bill that were critical for the day-to-day lives of the folks I'm privileged to represent. One of the things that I know was keeping so many of my neighbors up at night was the fear that they lose their unemployment benefits, with the expiration of some of the expansion programs that were offered in the initial stimulus bill. Fortunately, those have been extended for folks who are now able to sleep a little bit easier at night. That was critical. That was important.

But now we have to look forward. We need to pass those $2,000 stimulus checks. I'm eager for the Senate to take that up. I'm hopeful we'll win in Georgia and we'll have a majority in a Senate that will pass those checks.

But longer-term, we also have to address some of the other challenges facing our communities. As a state legislator, I am incredibly hopeful that President Biden will put forward a stimulus that provides support to state governments that really are on the front lines of the response to this pandemic, but who are struggling because of decreased revenue that's no fault of their own, but a byproduct of the public health and economic crisis that we're facing right now. And so I really want to make sure we see in a new stimulus, hopefully, aid to the states so that they can fill those holes and continue to provide the services that our constituents need and expect.

KRISTIN MYERS: Now, Coronavirus, as we've often talked about, did not really create inequities, it's really just revealed them and then exacerbated them. And one of the inequities that we see and that we talk about a lot is wealth inequality, as most people derive their wealth, or their income, from the wages that they make. And I think minimum wage, and raising the minimum wage, has been a topic that we've talked about quite a bit over the last couple of years, but especially in this election cycle.

Everyone can kind of see those wage increase maps there on the screen right now. How badly does Delaware really need to see a bump in that minimum wage for your constituents, and especially heading into 2021 and beyond as we really start to come out from under this pandemic?

SARAH MCBRIDE: The neighbors that I talked to throughout the First Senate District are eager to see an increase in a minimum wage. I know it's a huge priority for many of my colleagues, myself included, when we head into session next week. But we also need to make sure that we're making progress on a whole host of the kitchen table issues that are facing Delawareans, from the minimum wage to passage of policies like paid family and medical leave.

We saw in this crisis that far too many people had to give up their income in the face of an illness. I think people are ready and eager to see a policy change. So whether someone's dealing with COVID or cancer, no one has to give up their income in the face of illness. That we look out for people when times get tough and we make sure that they can get through an illness or welcome a new child into a family without eating their savings, without falling on harder financial times. And so minimum wage increase is a critical next step, but we also have to meet it with other long-term programmatic policies that lower the costs facing working families across this state.

KRISTIN MYERS: I really want to make sure I ask you one more policy question here, Senator, which is about health care. It's something that we've seen under attack right now by some states' attorneys generals going after Obamacare. What are you looking forward to, at least when you swear in and you start your term as state Senator, at least in terms of universal health care and protecting health care for as many of your constituents in Delaware as possible?

SARAH MCBRIDE: Well, we certainly need a national federal solution to health care at the end of the day. But states really have a unique opportunity to be laboratories of democracy for big ideas that meet the scope and the scale of the challenges we face, particularly in the area of health care. One of the first bills that I introduced, alongside representative David Bentz here in Delaware, is to address surprise medical billing. Congress fortunately just took action in the stimulus bill that was recently passed to end certain forms of surprise medical bills, but there's more work that needs to be done to make sure that every medical bill that a person could face, surprise medical bill that a person could face, is addressed.

We here in Delaware are struggling through a severe crisis in primary care, with not nearly enough primary care physicians here in Delaware offering affordable, accessible health care. We need to address that crisis and the dearth of primary care physicians here in Delaware. We can also be innovative bodies when it comes to those individual marketplaces under Obamacare. I am hopeful that we can explore a Medicaid buy-in option here in Delaware, so even if we don't see federal action with a Medicare buy-in option, states, single states by states can pass legislation to add options, to provide greater choice, and to lower costs for consumers and patients.

KRISTIN MYERS: I want to ask you now about the elections. We've heard repeatedly the president try to undermine each individual state-- Delaware, of course, going for its own candidate, President-elect Joe Biden. We heard just even at the top of this show how he essentially was trying to coerce Georgia's Secretary of State into finding votes. And we're hearing now that Republican senators and politicians and leaders on Wednesday-- so in just two days during that joint session of Congress-- are essentially going to try to undermine this election again.

I'm wondering if you can give us some of your comments and some of your thoughts on some of those political moves that we are seeing which everyone has really been branding a bit of political theater, because it's unlikely to be successful. But wondering what you're thinking when you hear that perhaps the voices of Delaware voters could be undermined, or will there be an attempt to be undermined, in just the coming days by some of those politicians on the hill in Washington.

SARAH MCBRIDE: We're here in Delaware super proud of our favorite son, Joe Biden, and his successful election as President of the United States. These attempts by Donald Trump to undermine the will of the American voter, and also to undermine credibility and faith in American democracy, are the last gasps of a despotic authoritarian wannabe who has clearly demonstrated throughout his time in office a complete disregard for the actual well-being of the people, and an entire focus on enriching himself, his friends, and avoiding humiliation at the ballot box, which is what the American voters delivered back in November for him. I think that we will certainly see Congress uphold the legal, certified electoral college votes.

But as you mentioned, this is all political theater. And frankly, it would be a lot more believable with folks like Ted Cruz and Senator Hawley coming forward claiming that Joe Biden won through illegal voter fraud. It would be a lot more believable if Democrats hadn't won all but one of the presidential elections over the last 30 years. These folks are grasping for straws, they are seeking to appease a dangerous authoritarian wannabe. And fortunately, history will not be kind to these elected officials, and certainly will not be kind to Donald Trump.

KRISTIN MYERS: I think that's the first time I've ever heard the president referred to as an "authoritarian wannabe." So that's a new nickname that we have here for the program. Sarah, I was hoping if I could quickly just squeeze another minute from you here on the Coronavirus vaccine distribution. This is something that has been largely left to the states. Wondering how you think that Delaware is going to be able to handle that vaccine distribution, which right now is way under where even our public health officials inside the country are saying that it needs to be right now.

SARAH MCBRIDE: The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services has done yeoman's work over the last year in helping to ensure that Delaware weathers the COVID-19 crisis with as many lives saved as possible. The roll out of the vaccine, unfortunately, has been slower in every state across the country than we'd like to see. That means, though, we need more support from the federal government. There really should be more funding from the federal government. There should be more guidance from the federal government to make sure that the states are getting through this.

But I am hopeful. I think we're seeing the numbers begin to tick up in terms of the numbers of vaccines that have been distributed. Delaware's a small state, so on the map that you have here it might be a lower number. I think we're right in the middle of the pack when it comes to the per capita distribution of the vaccine. But we've got to step it up, we've got to make sure that more people get it, but we've got to get the support from the federal government to make sure that we're able to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

KRISTIN MYERS: All right, Delaware State Senator-elect, Sarah McBride, happy new year and good luck to you as you take your oath of office next week on Tuesday. I know that all eyes will be watching, and I know that your constituents will, of course, be watching as well as you go forth in your term. Thanks so much for joining us today.

SARAH MCBRIDE: Thanks for having me.