US Senator Bernie Sanders drew a record-breaking crowd at his rally in Los Angeles on Saturday, which included musical acts from Joan Baez and Neil Young, who encouraged the crowd to “take America back,” while a surprise appearance at Coachella later that day became one of the festival top cameos so far, drawing a massive crowd.
Sanders’s “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go from Here” tour has been drawing massive crowds. Aided by the progressive US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the team set a record in Tempe, Arizona, for the biggest-ever political rally in that state three weeks ago.
In Denver, Colorado, more than 34,000 people showed up — a career-high crowd for the 83-year-old Sanders. Saturday in Los Angeles saw another record: at least 36,000 people packed a downtown park.
Photo: AFP
A host of musical acts began the high-energy event, including Maggie Rogers, indie rock band The Red Pears, Indigo de Souza, Young and Baez.
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, told the crowd at Gloria Molina Grand Park — a space named after the trailblazing Angeleno often credited for paving the way for women and Latinos in LA politics — that “power, greed and corruption are taking over our country like never before.”
She listed several California lawmakers — including US representatives David Valadao and Young Kim — who have recently supported US President Donald Trump’s policies.
Photo: AFP
“We are living in a moment where the Republican Party to a large degree has become a cult of the individual, obeying Trump’s every wish,” Sanders said, adding that the Trump administration is now “plotting how they can give US$1.1 trillion in tax breaks to the rich.”
The politician’s critique of the administration — saying big money and billionaires are exerting a corrupting influence on US politics — lasted more than 40 minutes.
The message has taken on a new resonance in the second Trump administration, as Americans face sweeping federal cuts and looming threats to safety-net programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Sanders, an independent who votes with Democrats, launched the tour in late February, offering Democratic voters an outlet for their fury and grief at a moment when most of their leaders in Washington appeared disoriented by the speed of Trump’s actions.
The Vermont senator has held events in big cities like Denver and Phoenix, while also targeting Republican-held districts that voted for former US president Joe Biden in 2020, as Democrats contemplate a path back to power next year.
Ocasio-Cortez joined Sanders for part of his tour last month, raising questions about her political aspirations and the future of the progressive movement.
Sanders’s western tour would continue with stops in Utah, Idaho and Montana.
The tour would return to California tomorrow for events in Folsom and Bakersfield, a Republican stronghold, which has one of the highest levels of Medi-Cal — California’s Medicaid health care program — enrollments in the state.
COACHELLA
Later on Saturday, Sanders made a surprise cameo at Coachella after a blockbuster set by Charli XCX.
Speaking under a full moon, Sanders urged crowds to stand up against billionaires, health insurance companies and Trump’s administration.
“I’m not gonna be long, but this country faces some very difficult challenges and the future of what happens to America depends on your generation. You can turn away and ignore what goes on, but you do it at your own peril,” he said.
“We need you to stand up to fight for justice,” he added.
“You can turn away and you can ignore what goes on but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up, to fight for justice. To fight for economic justice, social justice and racial justice,” Sanders told the rapt crowd.
Additional reporting by AFP
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