Michael Moore
© Darren Ornitz / ReutersMichael Moore
Liberal firebrand and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore lashed out at corporate media for their non-stop coverage of alleged Russian malfeasance, distracting Americans from discussing high poverty rates and inequality.

"You turn on the TV and it's 'Russia, Russia, Russia!'" Moore said during a live-streamed town hall event attended by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. "And don't forget Stormy Daniels!" Sanders jokingly added, referencing the porn star who claims to have had an affair with Donald Trump before he ran for president.

The town hall, watched by an estimated 1.7 million people online, focused on confronting and combatting inequality in America. According to Moore, the media's obsession with Russia is a distraction used to avoid dialogue on issues such as child poverty and income inequality.

"These are all shiny keys to distract us... We should know about the West Virginia strike. What an inspiration that would be. But they don't show this, Bernie, because, what would happen if they did?" Moore lamented.

Sanders responded, "In a so-called conservative red state, teachers stood up and fought back and won."

Reversing America's growing inequality requires a multi-pronged solution, the panelists argued.

Sanders called out the growing concentration of corporate power and its malign influence on the country's political and economic systems, while Warren said that reviving unions would help rebuild America's middle class.