Senator Bernie Sanders gathered a record-breaking crowd in Los Angeles on Saturday, rallying thousands to oppose former President Donald Trump’s return to power. The event, featuring performances by musical legends Joan Baez and Neil Young, energized the audience to “take America back.”
As part of his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where Do We Go From Here” tour, Sanders has been attracting massive turnouts nationwide. Three weeks ago, alongside New York progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders set a new state record in Tempe, Arizona, for the largest political rally ever held there. In Denver, Colorado, over 34,000 people attended — the largest crowd of Sanders’ political career.
Saturday’s rally in Los Angeles broke that record again, with at least 36,000 supporters filling Gloria Molina Grand Park, according to The Guardian.
The event opened with a high-energy lineup, including indie rock group The Red Pears, Maggie Rogers, Indigo de Souza, and the legendary Baez and Young. On a perfect spring day in Los Angeles, Young, dressed in all black, performed for the crowd before introducing Ocasio-Cortez, who received a rockstar’s welcome.
Addressing the crowd, Ocasio-Cortez warned that “power, greed, and corruption are taking hold of our country like never before,” calling out several California lawmakers who have supported Trump’s recent policies, including Representatives David Valadao of Bakersfield and Young Kim of Orange County.
Sanders then took the stage, sharply criticizing the Republican Party’s allegiance to Trump. “We are living at a moment when the Republican Party has largely become a cult of personality, bowing to Trump’s every whim,” Sanders declared. He warned that a second Trump administration is “already planning to hand $1.1 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthy.”
The senator’s fiery speech, which lasted more than 40 minutes, focused heavily on the corrupting influence of big money and billionaires in American politics.
