Signs for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
By AZ Mirror
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied a coalition of progressive allies and supporters in Tempe Thursday night to “fight back” against the chaos in Washington D.C. created by President Donald Trump’s executive orders and departmental cuts.
He emphasized a need to separate money from politics.
“Our fight is to make sure we remain a democracy. One person, one vote. Not billionaires buying elections,” Sanders said, alluding to the $277 million Musk spent to elect Trump.
The event at Arizona State University’s Mullet Arena was filled to capacity. At least a thousand people were stopped outside the arena because there was no room inside.
Last year, Donald Trump held a campaign rally at Mullet Arena, but drew considerably fewer people.
The rally was part of Sanders’ “Fight Oligarchy” tour, in which he and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been rallying in swing states.
Unlike Trump’s October event at the arena, which focused on fears of immigration, the Sanders rally focused largely on issues of economic inequality, a longtime platform of Sanders and his supporters.
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders focused on Republican plans to cut programs like Social Security and Medicaid, which would have an outsized impact on marginalized communities that rely on those programs for assistance.
