Bernie Sanders did not support President Donald Trump's delay on the relief bill and slammed his actions, calling it "cruel." The 79-year-old United States Senator, however, agreed with the president's push for $2,000 payments.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would push for a vote Monday in a bid to increase payment to those struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic in a COVID-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000. This move came after President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to boost the coronavirus relief bill, but Senator Bernie Sanders criticized the president's decision to not automatically sign the legislation.

During his appearance on ABC's This Week, Sanders agreed that the payments should be higher, but offered sharp opposition to Trump's decision to hold up the current bill to make it happen. He went on to describe the president's actions as "unbelievably cruel," pointing out that millions of Americans are losing their extended unemployment benefits and are on the verge of being evicted from their apartments because the eviction moratorium is ending.

He said they are trying to figure out how this vaccine can be distributed to tens of millions of Americans, noting that there's money in that bill, but Trump is "diddling around" and is likely to even veto it. Despite the harsh criticism, Sanders admitted that he and Trump are on the same page as far as agreeing that $600 wouldn't be sufficient is concerned.

He urged the president to sign the bill, adding that they can then immediately pass the $2,000 direct payment to working families of the United States. His sentiments coincide with his Republican colleague Senator Pat Toomey, who told Fox News Sunday that the president should not avoid signing the bill but focus on pushing for separate action on the payments.

Toomey, on the other hand, does not support the principle of increasing the payments but instead suggests a targeted approach that would specifically offer help to those suffering financial losses due to the still-raging coronavirus pandemic. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, he pointed to those who lost their jobs due to partial economic shutdown and the small businesses that are struggling to even survive.

Toomey opposed the idea of sending $2,000 checks to everyone, explaining that not all Americans suffered financial losses due to the pandemic. For instance, he noted that the federal employees never missed a check and asked why do they need to send several thousand to them.