They feel frustrated by the status quo, and they’re fed up with the system. They don’t trust politicians, and they want revolutionary change. They are men, many of them younger, who are looking for a champion. Once, they liked Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont as a presidential candidate. This election, they voted for Donald J. Trump. The number of Sanders supporters who have gone MAGA is [most likely](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/24/16194086/bernie-trump-voters-study) a sliver of the electorate. But they illustrate an important pattern in American politics, political scientists say, one that might help explain Mr. Trump’s success with young men in particular. [For certain voters, political preferences are defined](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajps.12616) not by party, but by their attitudes about the ruling class — whether they trust people in power, or think they’ve rigged the system against ordinary people. In the final New York Times/Siena College national [poll in late October](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/27/us/elections/times-siena-poll-crosstabs.html), nearly two-thirds of voters said the government was “mostly working to benefit itself and the elites,” rather than “the people and the country.” Eighty-two percent of Trump voters said so, twice as many as Kamala Harris voters. The idea resonated in particular with men and younger voters, the poll found — groups that Mr. Trump especially courted in this election and that Mr. Sanders did well with in his Democratic primary campaigns in 2016 and 2020. “The connective tissue from Trump to Sanders is something akin to populism — the ruling class sucks — and that rhetoric [plays well](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/primary-distrust-political-distrust-and-support-for-the-insurgent-candidacies-of-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders-in-the-2016-primary/578E3061392DDE1BF3BE3F615054F97A) among a certain class of people who don’t feel the government works for them,” said Joshua Dyck, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F09%2Fupshot%2Fvoters-trump-bernie-sanders.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F09%2Fupshot%2Fvoters-trump-bernie-sanders.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F09%2Fupshot%2Fvoters-trump-bernie-sanders.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F09%2Fupshot%2Fvoters-trump-bernie-sanders.html).

The Vermont senator [Bernie Sanders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/bernie-sanders) has blasted the [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) administration’s order to freeze all [federal loans and grants](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/trump-pauses-grants-loans), describing it as a “dangerous move towards authoritarianism” in America. The order, which is scheduled to begin at 5pm ET on Tuesday, was ordered in a [memo](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/da3a3829590efbb7/b0c025ff-full.pdf) from the US president’s acting head of the Office of Management and Budget on Monday evening. The directive instructs all federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance”. The memo did not state which groups or programs would be affected but said that the freeze would not apply to social security or Medicare. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/trump-federal-loans-grants-bernie-sanders#EmailSignup-skip-link-3) Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion [ What Trump didn’t say in his inauguration speech | Bernie Sanders ](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/23/bernie-sanders-trump-inauguration-speech) On Tuesday, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader from New York said that the pause would probably affect [universities, the non-profit sector](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/trump-pauses-grants-loans), food assistance programs, hospitals, community health centers, organizations that assist disabled veterans and more. On Tuesday, Sanders joined many Senate [Democrats](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats) in denouncing the order, and said in a statement that the freeze would have a “devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of children, seniors on fixed incomes, and the most vulnerable people in our country”. “It is a dangerous move towards authoritarianism and it is blatantly unconstitutional,” Sanders said. “Our founding fathers explicitly gave Congress the power of the purse. Under our system of checks and balances, no president has the right to choose which laws to follow and which laws to ignore.” Further, the senator said that the order “raises more questions than it answers” including whether community health centers will receive the federal grants they need to continue to provide primary healthcare to millions of Americans. “This unconstitutional memo must be rescinded,” Sanders said. “The American people – Democrats, [Republicans](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans) and Independents – must come together to defeat this move towards authoritarianism.” He concluded: “If President Trump wants to change our nation’s laws he has the right to ask Congress to change them. He does not have the right to violate the United States constitution. He is not a king.” The Connecticut attorney general, William Tong, a Democrat, said on Tuesday morning that attorneys general across the country were preparing imminent legal action to challenge the order. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, [said](https://x.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1884271636230332562) that her office “will be taking imminent legal action against this administration’s unconstitutional pause on federal funding”.

Even as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has fired up the American left over the past decade, his speeches have the flavor of a sociology lesson. He rarely makes himself the main character. Which is why it is striking how differently the young leader often seen as his successor, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, approaches politics. As she kicked off a Western tour with Mr. Sanders on Thursday in North Las Vegas, Nev., she introduced herself by name — which he never does — and used her experience waitressing to explain her politics to a crowd of several thousand people. “I don’t believe in health care, labor and human dignity because I’m a Marxist — I believe it because I was a waitress,” she said. “Because I worked double shifts to keep the lights on and because on my worst day, I know what it feels like to feel left behind. And I know that we don’t have to live like this.” Mr. Sanders, by contrast, delivered a version of the same speech he has given since before Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was born, railing against corporate greed. “Eat the rich,” someone yelled. Unlike Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Sanders rarely injects his personal story, including his middle-class roots, into his speeches.Credit...Mikayla Whitmore for The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F20%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-bernie-sanders-vegas-denver.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F20%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-bernie-sanders-vegas-denver.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F20%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-bernie-sanders-vegas-denver.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F20%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-bernie-sanders-vegas-denver.html).

For the last decade, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been running for president, planning a run for president or pushing former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to adopt more progressive policies. But now, as Democrats find their legal and fund-raising institutions [under attack](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/trump-republicans-attack-democrats-actblue.html) from the Trump administration, [their base voters furious at their congressional leadership](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/us/politics/democrats-trump.html) and their party’s popularity at a [generational low](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/democratic-party-hits-new-polling-low-voters-want-fight-trump-harder-rcna196161), progressives are also staring down the prospect of a post-Bernie future. A movement politician with a large and devoted base of supporters, the 83-year-old Mr. Sanders has signaled that [he does not intend to run for president again](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/bernie-sanders-iowa-trump.html). The question now is who will lead the network he built from scratch into the next presidential election and beyond. Interviews with nearly 20 progressive Democrats about the left wing’s future revealed a faction that sees the ideas Mr. Sanders has championed — reducing the power of billionaires, increasing the minimum wage, focusing more on the plight of workers — as core to the next generation of mainstream Democratic politics. Though there is little agreement about who will emerge to guide progressives into a post-Sanders era, virtually everyone interviewed said there was one clear leader for the job: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. And it just so happened that Mr. Sanders and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez spent three days last week on a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour through Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. In Denver, they drew 34,000 people, what Sanders aides said was the largest crowd of his career. Neither has so much as obliquely referred to the torch-passing nature of their trip, and in an interview, Mr. Sanders declined to answer questions about whether Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, would inherit his mantle. But the subtext of their travels appears clear. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F23%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-sanders-democrats-2028.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F23%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-sanders-democrats-2028.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F23%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-sanders-democrats-2028.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F23%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-sanders-democrats-2028.html).

To witness one of Bernie Sanders’s Fighting Oligarchy tour stops, which rolled through Nevada, Colorado and Arizona this weekend, is to stumble through time. It’s 2025, but when Mr. Sanders, the senior senator from Vermont, delivers lines, in his still-intact Brooklyn drawl, about “millionaires and billionaires” and the 1 percent keeping the working class underfoot, it could be 2015, or 2005. Even further back than that, perhaps. It is not merely Mr. Sanders’s speech. At 83, his image is unmoving — even if his hairline sits a bit further back than it used to. He wears, as he has for years, wire frames no fancier than the ones you’d find in the drugstore checkout line, unremarkable navy suits and cornflower blue dress shirts. His younger sparring partners in the Democratic Party — Barack Obama, Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, among them — long ago shed their sport coats to stump in shirt sleeves. Not Bernie. Like an aging accountant, his blazer stays on. The out-of-time feeling extends beyond the stage at the Fighting Oligarchy tour. The crowds that fill these whistle stops (which Mr. Sanders has said are the among the largest of his political career) wear “Bernie 2016” T-shirts and “Bernie 2020” caps — dusted off keepsakes of Mr. Sanders’s prior presidential runs, but also reminders that he has been a Democratic bridesmaid for longer than some in his crowd have been able to vote. One of the more popular items among attendees: hats from Mr. Sanders’s previous presidential runs.Credit...Jason Connolly/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Some attendees accessorized with references to Elon Musk and others.Credit...Mikayla Whitmore for The New York Times Even Mr. Sanders’s merch shows how little he has changed aesthetically over the years.Credit...Jim Vondruska/Reuters Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F24%2Fstyle%2Fbernie-sanders-fighting-oligarchy-fans.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F24%2Fstyle%2Fbernie-sanders-fighting-oligarchy-fans.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F24%2Fstyle%2Fbernie-sanders-fighting-oligarchy-fans.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F03%2F24%2Fstyle%2Fbernie-sanders-fighting-oligarchy-fans.html).

Thank goodness [Bernie Sanders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/bernie-sanders) and [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) have ignored the advice of Democratic [operatives](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/democrats-trump-congress.html) to “roll over and play dead”. Their anti-oligarchy mass rallies have brought out [record-breaking](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/22/nx-s1-5334488/bernie-sanders-fight-oligarchy-tour-trump-musk-doge-democrats) numbers, testifying to a widespread popular desire to fight back against [Elon Musk](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/elon-musk) and [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump). Filling the void left by [Chuck Schumer](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/chuck-schumer) and his ilk, AOC and Bernie are becoming leaders not just of leftist activists, but of the Democratic party’s mainstream liberal base. The hard question now is how to harness all this energy into a movement capable of actually defeating Musk, then Trump. Team Bernie has already taken great steps in this direction. It’s not just that the “fighting oligarchy” tour has brilliantly succeeded in energizing ordinary Americans and in spreading a resonant anti-billionaire, pro-democracy message. It’s also the case that these events have a concrete strategic action focus, as one of Bernie’s advisers [explained](https://x.com/jeremyslevin/status/1903610159261249655) online: > _For those asking, yes these \[rallies\] are tied to action. All have been in or near GOP-held swing districts and we are following up with specific actions to pressure their Member to vote NO on any Medicaid cuts or billionaire tax breaks – or else face electoral consequences._ This is all essential. But at risk of engaging in the left’s extremely annoying habit of sideline quarterbacking America’s two most influential Democratic socialists, here’s some unsolicited advice for Bernie and AOC: ask all rally attenders to become _organizers_. The fate of our country depends in part on channeling the excitement of these rallies into a sustained collective campaign. To generate the scale of resistance necessary to win, we need attenders not only to take action like signing a petition or attending a rally, but to get dozens of their co-workers, friends, and neighbors to do the same, as part of a sustained and escalating collective effort armed with a plan to win. In other words, we need a lot more _organizing –_ and we need to leverage high-attention moments like these rallies to directly onboard everybody looking to fight back. To be fair, the fact that these rallies haven’t yet made such organizing asks isn’t the fault of its hosts – above all, it reflects the weakness of the US labor movement and the left. If we had already succeeded in galvanizing a mass-scale national campaign against the billionaire coup, I have no doubt that AOC and Bernie would be actively boosting it. But whether we like it or not, we desperately need our main tribunes to leverage their popularity and platform to supercharge our incipient bottom-up efforts. Since Bernie and AOC have such a high profile, and since America’s crisis is so dire, any organized campaign that they choose to boost or launch would likely go viral. My two cents is that the best target is Musk – since he’s so unpopular – and the best message is one focused on saving widely loved services like the veteran affairs department, social security and the national parks. There’s a very good chance that sustained, mass backlash against Musk can force Trump to throw Doge to the wolves. What concretely could Bernie and AOC ask people to do? Most immediately, I think the best bet would be to ask their followers to become organizers for the upcoming 5 April “Hands Off!” mass day of action called for by groups such as MoveOn, Indivisible and the Working Families Party. Given the breadth of the coalition calling for it, 5 April has the potential to be huge. Crucially, however, the ask can’t just be to show up on the 5th, but to spend the next two weeks actively reaching out to your co-workers, neighbors and beyond to persuade them to take part. That way, we can help ensure that 5 April is just the start of an escalating campaign capable of forcing out Musk and saving our services. * Eric Blanc is assistant professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. He is the author of We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big

The Vermont senator [Bernie Sanders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/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”. Sanders’s Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go from Here tour has been drawing massive crowds. Aided by the progressive New York representative [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez), the team set the record in Tempe, Arizona, for 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. A host of musical acts kicked off the high-energy event, including the indie rock band The Red Pears, Maggie Rogers, Indigo de Souza, and legends Baez and Young. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/12/bernie-sanders-rally-los-angeles#img-2) The Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go from Here tour in Los Angeles on Saturday. Photograph: Victoria Clayton/Guardian On a perfect LA day with a gentle breeze and blue sky, Young, wearing all black, performed for the crowd before introducing Ocasio-Cortez, who was met with the wild applause usually reserved for a rock star. 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 named some [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) lawmakers who have supported recent Trump policies, including Bakersfield representative David Valadao and representative Young Kim of Orange county. The Raise gospel choir sang out “power to the people”, and Sanders took the stage. “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 told the crowd, adding that the Trump administration is now “plotting how they can give $1.1tn in tax breaks to the rich”. The politician’s critique of the administration – and the corrupting influence of big money and billionaires in [US politics](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-politics) – lasted more than 40 minutes. The message has taken on a new resonance in the second Trump administration, as Americans have watched Elon Musk take a chainsaw to the federal government and threatening popular safety-net programs like social security and Medicare. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/12/bernie-sanders-rally-los-angeles#img-3) Victor and Cindy Villanuevo, with Cindy’s sister Rose Matthews, a retired teacher, at the Bernie Sanders rally in Los Angeles. Photograph: Victoria Clayton/Guardian These are the issues that brought out Cindy and Victor Villanuevo. Cindy has battled multiple sclerosis for the past decade. “I’m here because I’m disgusted about what Trump is doing to science. It’s a disgrace. When you cut funding, there’s no hope for any of us,” said the Buena Park mother. Her sister, Rose Matthews, a retired teacher, is concerned about social security, for people who work at veterans’ affairs and for veterans’ benefits. “I know the folks at the Long Beach VA very well because my husband battled ALS for four years,” she said. “The work they do with the vets is incredible and much needed. Now I’m worried that’s going away. We can’t just let this happen.” Ali Wolff and Myylo Lewis took the 94 bus from Silver Lake to attend. They said the bus had been packed with Bernie supporters – and it felt good. “It’s terrifying what’s been happening,” said Wolff. “It’s a relief just being here with so many like-minded people.” Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie are the “closest thing to a version of America you actually want to live in”, said Lewis. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/12/bernie-sanders-rally-los-angeles#img-4) Ali Wolff (left) and Myylo Lewis attend the Bernie Sanders rally on Saturday. Photograph: Victoria Clayton/Guardian 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 second-term power grabs. The Vermont senator has held events in big cities like Denver and Phoenix, while also targeting Republican-held districts that voted for Joe Biden in 2020, as Democrats contemplate a path back to power in 2026. Ocasio-Cortez joined Sanders for part of his tour last month, raising questions about her political aspirations and the future of the progressive movement he has been building since before she was born. On the stage in [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles), progressive congressmembers Pramila Jayapal of Washington state and Ro Khanna of California, as well as many union leaders representing teachers, nurses, longshoremen and healthcare workers all addressed the crowd. Eunissess Hernandez, who represents LA’s first city council district, gave a particularly powerful address, saying the Trump administration was trying to divide people and get them to blame each other for their problems instead of blaming the people who are “actually profiting from our pain”. Sanders’s western tour will continue with stops in Utah, Idaho and Montana. The tour will return to California on Tuesday for events in Folsom and Bakersfield, a Republican stronghold, which has one of the highest levels of Medi-Cal enrollments in the state. The agricultural community, which is in Kern county, was also the locale of a January immigration raid that resulted in 78 arrests many contend were a result of shocking and unlawful racial profiling. Sanders railed against the raid, describing it as the US government “disappearing people”.

The biggest political rallies anywhere in America right now are being headlined by an 83-year-old senator in the twilight of his career and his 35-year-old protégée. Roughly 36,000 people in Los Angeles. More than 34,000 attendees in Denver. And another 30,000 on Tuesday night near Sacramento. Those monster crowds — more than 200,000 people in all, according to organizers — have turned out to cheer on a fiery anti-Trump, anti-billionaire message from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York during their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of Western states. Mr. Sanders even surprised attendees at the Coachella music festival near Los Angeles last week, [popping onstage](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/us/politics/bernie-sanders-coachella.html) to introduce the singer Clairo and make an appeal to young people. As Democrats search for a spark after being routed in November, the two progressives are providing the kindling, offering the party’s beaten-down base the fighting spirit it has been missing ever since President Trump returned to office. Even as some top Democrats [tack to the center](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/politics/gavin-newsom-podcast-steve-bannon.html) or [try to find common ground](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/us/politics/gretchen-whitmer-trump-democrats.html) with the emboldened Republican president, Mr. Sanders and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez dismiss the notion of any concessions. Instead, they have stuck to the simple argument that won over millions during Mr. Sanders’s two runs for president and endeared him to the types of working-class voters who abandoned Democrats in November: The system is broken, with the wealthy enriching themselves while others scrape by. “All over this country, people are struggling, every single day, just to survive,” Mr. Sanders told the crowd on Tuesday in Folsom, Calif. “Brothers and sisters, in the richest country in the history of the world, we can do a hell of a lot better than that!” Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F16%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbernie-sanders-aoc-trump-democrats.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F16%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbernie-sanders-aoc-trump-democrats.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F16%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbernie-sanders-aoc-trump-democrats.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F04%2F16%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fbernie-sanders-aoc-trump-democrats.html).

 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, has been [touring the country](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/22/nx-s1-5334488/bernie-sanders-fight-oligarchy-tour-trump-musk-doge-democrats) with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to [push back against the Trump administration](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/13/nx-s1-5363702/bernie-sanders-warns-of-extraordinary-danger-facing-u-s-under-trump-at-la-rally). In [an interview with _Here & Now's_ Robin Young](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2025/04/23/bernie-sanders-politics), he said Democrats need to put up candidates who can channel the anger of voters who are worried about recent moves by President Trump. "I think support for this right-wing agenda, which is not only about authoritarianism and oligarchy, it is about a proposal which will give over, if passed, over $1 trillion in tax breaks to the top 1% and allow for massive cuts to Medicaid, nutrition, housing and other programs," Sanders said. "If you poll that, I would guess that 80-90% of the American people think that that is totally insane. So I think in fact in many ways the Trump administration is now on the defensive with their tariff policies, which are going to raise prices. Now what we need are candidates and a political movement which stands clearly with the working class of this country." _The following excerpt has been edited for length and clarity._ ### **On concerns from Democrats that the party has moved too far to the left and needs to listen more** **Sen. Bernie Sanders:** Well, of course the party needs to listen more. There's a lot to be proud of. They have led the way in the right for women to control their own body, something which is under attack right now, led the way for gay rights, led the way to fight against bigotry in general civil rights, but I'll tell you what Democrats should not be proud of: And that is in the richest country in the history of the world, 60% of the American people living paycheck to paycheck. In America today, one guy, Elon Musk, owns more wealth than the bottom 53% of American households. We're the only major country on Earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people despite spending twice as much as most countries. Sixty thousand people a year die because they don't get to a doctor on time. In other words, what the Democratic Party has not done is paid attention to the working class, and they paid a political price for that.  For more highlights from Sanders' interview, including thoughts on why Republicans haven't paid a political price for policies favoring the wealthy and how to get disaffected voters to listen to the Democratic Party and to listen, [click through to _Here & Now_'s site.](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2025/04/23/bernie-sanders-politics) _Michael Scotto produced this piece for digital along with Grace Griffin. Mark Navin edited the broadcast segment._

[Bernie Sanders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/bernie-sanders) is partnering with the group Run for Something to help support a new generation of progressive candidates interested in seeking public office. Questions about the future of Sanders’ leftwing movement have followed his [cross-country](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/25/bernie-sanders-democrats-fight-oligarchy) [Fighting Oligarchy tour](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/12/bernie-sanders-rally-los-angeles), where at each stop the Vermont senator encourages supporters to get involved and run for office. The initiative builds on those calls, [Politico first reported](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/08/bernie-sanders-run-for-something-00334937), by teaming up with organizations that recruit and train candidates running for office, with an emphasis on young people. “I am writing to ask you to run for office. Yes, you,” Sanders wrote last month in an email to supporters, which included a link to a form that promised to connect interested parties with an organization that would provide information and training on running for office. “We need to elect progressives at every level in this country who are prepared to side with the working class in America and fight for an economy and government that works for all of us, not just the few.” More than 5,000 people have already expressed interested through Sanders’ operation and have been connected to one of the partner organizations, including Run for Something, the group said. “Young people aren’t waiting for the change we need – they’re stepping up to be that change,” Amanda Litman, the president of Run for Something, said in a statement announcing the partnership. “Our future depends on building a new generation of leaders, and with this partnership, we can reach even more young people ready to serve their communities and fight for change.” Run for Something, founded in the aftermath of [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump)’s first election victory, helps recruit and support young progressive candidates interested in running for down-ballot races. The group said it has had more than 45,000 candidates sign up since election day – more than it had in its entire first three years. Sanders, an independent who twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination, has rankled some in the party for suggesting some left-leaning candidates would fare better if they ran as an independent. The Democratic party’s brand is deeply tarnished in Republican-led corners of the country, and its overall approval rating has fallen to record lows since Kamala Harris lost the presidency to Trump. Post-election, many centrist Democrats blamed the progressive wing, led by Sanders and House members such as representatives [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) of New York and Maxwell Frost of Florida, for pulling the party too far left over the past decade. But Sanders argues the opposite, that his populist economic agenda, pieces of which Trump also supports, is crucial to winning back working-class voters. With the Democratic base desperate for leaders willing to take on Trump, the senator, [joined along the way by Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/23/bernie-sanders-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-democrats) and Frost, as well as representatives Ro Khanna of California and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, has drawn the biggest crowds of his life during his tour. Though the 83-year-old has not formally ruled out a third bid for the White House, his tour and the new effort to recruit candidates is seen as an attempt to guide the movement he has built over decades toward a post-Sanders future.

[Bernie Sanders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/bernie-sanders) has endorsed the leftwing New York City mayoral candidate [Zohran Mamdani](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/12/nyc-mayoral-election-cuomo-mamdani-photo) in the latest boost to his insurgent campaign. Mamdani, a democratic socialist like Sanders, is the main rival to the campaign of the former New York governor [Andrew Cuomo](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/andrew-cuomo), who is seeking to rehabilitate his political career after leaving office amid sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo, 67, began the race as a dominant favorite but Mamdani, 33, has surged in recent weeks, netting the key endorsement of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. One poll even [showed him edging](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/11/zohran-mamdani-climbs-to-top-of-poll-leading-andrew-cuomo-00401594) into the lead. “At this dangerous moment in history, status quo politics isn’t good enough. We need new leadership that is prepared to stand up to powerful corporate interests & fight for the working class,” said Sanders, a senator from Vermont and a powerful figure on the Democratic party’s progressive left. Mamdani replied on X: “As for so many across this country, @BernieSanders has been the single most influential political figure in my life. As Mayor, I will strive to live up to his example by fighting for the working class every day and hopefully make Brooklyn’s own proud.” The Democratic primary election to lead one of the biggest cities in the US will be held on 24 June, after early voting began on 14 June. The election will use [ranked-choice voting](https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/03/23/how-does-ranked-choice-voting-work-in-new-york-city/), allowing voters to rank up to five candidates in order of preference. New York’s current mayor, Eric Adams, who ran as a Democrat in 2021, [is seeking re-election as an independent](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/eric-adams-mayor-election-independent) candidate and has been widely attacked by Democrats for his close relationship with Donald Trump. The general mayoral election is set for 4 November.

178181276 story [](//slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=business)[](//slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=ai) Posted by msmash on Wednesday June 25, 2025 @03:30PM from the feeling-the-bern dept. Senator Bernie Sanders [called for a four-day work week](https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/25/bernie-sanders-says-that-if-ai-makes-us-so-productive-we-should-get-a-4-day-work-week/) during a recent interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, arguing that AI productivity gains should benefit workers rather than just technology companies and corporate executives. Sanders proposed reducing the standard work week to 32 hours when AI tools increase worker productivity, rather than eliminating jobs entirely. "Technology is gonna work to improve us, not just the people who own the technology and the CEOs of large corporations," Sanders said. "You are a worker, your productivity is increasing because we give you AI, right? Instead of throwing you out on the street, I'm gonna reduce your work week to 32 hours."

Bernie Sanders 认为如果 AI 提高了员工生产力那么应该推行一周四天工作制 -------------------------------------------- [](/search?tid=151) [](/search?tid=168) [Wilson](/~Wilson) (42865)发表于 2025年06月26日 16时01分 星期四 [新浪微博分享](//service.weibo.com/share/share.php?url=//www.solidot.org/story?sid=81653&appkey=1370085986&title=Bernie%20Sanders%20%E8%AE%A4%E4%B8%BA%E5%A6%82%E6%9E%9C%20AI%20%E6%8F%90%E9%AB%98%E4%BA%86%E5%91%98%E5%B7%A5%E7%94%9F%E4%BA%A7%E5%8A%9B%E9%82%A3%E4%B9%88%E5%BA%94%E8%AF%A5%E6%8E%A8%E8%A1%8C%E4%B8%80%E5%91%A8%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%A9%E5%B7%A5%E4%BD%9C%E5%88%B6) [](javascript:void(0);) **来自星尘** 美国佛蒙特州联邦参议员伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)接受播客 Joe Rogan 采访时呼吁推行一周四天工作制。他主张，AI 带来的生产力提升不能仅仅让科技公司和企业高管受益，也应该让员工受益。桑德斯提议，当 AI 工具能提高员工生产力时，将每周的标准工作时间减少到 32 小时，而不是砍掉部分工作岗位。桑德斯说，科技应该致力于让世界更美好，不能只提高科技公司所有者和高管的财富。你是一名员工，你的生产力提高了，因为我们赋予了你 AI，我们不会将你赶到街上，而是将你的周工作时间减少到 32 小时 ... slashdot.org/story/25/06/25/194207/bernie-sanders-says-if-ai-makes-us-so-productive-we-should-get-a-4-day-work-week

Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayoral frontrunner and Democratic nominee, joined the Vermont senator [Bernie Sanders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/bernie-sanders) in a rousing town hall in Brooklyn on Saturday evening where the two addressed the growing threat of oligarchic control across the US and how to fight it. The event, held at Sanders’ alma mater Brooklyn College, drew an audience of about 1,700 people. Mamdani and Sanders co-hosted the town hall as part of [Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy tour](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/25/bernie-sanders-democrats-fight-oligarchy), which has included rallies in 20 states. Throughout the tour, the senator has been actively supporting and recruiting progressive candidates to run for office. Speaking to the Guardian before the event, AjiFanta Marenah, vice-president of the Muslim Democratic Club of [New York](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/new-york), said “Zohran resonates with us because the policies he’s fighting for directly impact our communities”. “We want a government that represents working people, low-income people. A government that’s going to fight for housing, justice and immigration … We don’t want a mayor that’s only going to work to represent billionaires.” Inside the auditorium, Mamdani and Sanders were met with thunderous applause as they walked on stage, with students and older people alike standing and cheering. Mamdani opened his address by condemning the City University of New York’s decision to [dismiss](https://theintercept.com/2025/07/15/cuny-professors-fired-palestine/) four professors, who said they were fired for their anti-war Palestinian solidarity. Immediately, the crowd began an energized chant: “Free, free Palestine!” [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/07/we-have-the-people-bernie-sanders-campaigns-with-zohran-mamdani-as-new-york-mayoral-race-enters-final-stretch#img-2) Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani at the event. Sanders said it was ‘hard to understand how the major Democratic leaders of New York state are not supporting the Democratic candidate’. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters Mamdani, who has [been backed](https://deadline.com/gallery/zohran-mamdani-celebrity-endorsements/) by a slew of celebrities and [lawmakers](https://www.zohranfornyc.com/endorsements) including Cynthia Nixon and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, went on to push back against capitalistic greed, saying “New York City is not for sale to Donald Trump’s billionaires … not for sale to corporations, it is not for sale to corrupt politicians” as the crowd erupted into applause. He condemned what he called a nationwide “attack on working people”. “This is a fight where we make clear that this is a city where we will choose our name,” Mamdani said, before turning to Sanders and saying: “It is an honor to be here alongside an icon of our struggle.” The 33-year-old Democratic socialist, who has been highly favored by progressives, has been a thorn in the side of the city’s billionaires as he [vows to freeze rent prices](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/23/zohran-mamdani-new-york-city-mayor-race-viral), increase housing and raise taxes for New York’s richest 1%. Echoing similar sentiments, Sanders hailed Mamdani’s campaign: “It is not ugly 30-second TV ads. It is a grassroots movement.” He called the campaign “a test case of whether democracy is still able to prevail” as he pointed to billionaire donors and tech and media oligarchs who have allied with Trump, including Bill Ackman, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk. “What you are seeing now is an oligarchy with enormous economic power and political power in both political parties …\[and\] they are afraid of Mr Mamdani becoming an example of what can happen all over the country … They are scared to death,” Sanders said to rousing applause. “What we are here tonight to say is, to hell with you. We are going to take you on!” he continued, bringing the crowd to its feet. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/07/we-have-the-people-bernie-sanders-campaigns-with-zohran-mamdani-as-new-york-mayoral-race-enters-final-stretch#img-3) The crowd at the town hall event. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images The senator also pointed to the fairly muted response from mainstream and centrist Democrats, including those of New York state, who have been slow to embrace Mamdani and his progressive policies. “I find it hard to understand how the major Democratic leaders of New York state are not supporting the Democratic candidate,” Sanders said. “If a candidate started at 2% in the polls, gets 50,000 volunteers, creates [enormous excitement](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/24/new-york-mayoral-primary-results), gets young people involved in the political process, gets nontraditional voters to vote, Democratic leaders would be jumping up and down!” “We’ve got another fight on our hands, which is the future of the Democratic party,” Sanders added, as business owners and wealthy donors across New York City [rally to fundraise](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/nyregion/mamdani-opposition-donors-mayor.html) against Mamdani and in support of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and current New York City mayor Adams, two Democrat turned independent candidates. Mamdani and Sanders took a handful of questions from the crowd, including one on how Mamdani plans to defend immigrant communities who have [come under attack](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/07/new-york-city-immigrants-ice-trump-administration) by the Trump administration. “One of the key things that we can do here in New York City is to actually start to provide legal representation to New Yorkers in detention,” said Mamdani, who moved to the US as a child from Uganda where he was born to parents of Indian descent. “To increase funding by tens of millions of dollars, to scale up this program such that we do everything in our power to ensure that immigrant New Yorkers are not living in fear.” Sanders chimed in, calling the masked raids by federal agents in migrant communities “unspeakable” and “disgusting”. With growing concerns over Trump’s threat to deploy national guard troops to New York City, Mamdani replied to a question on what he would do should such deployment happen: “The first thing is we have to prepare for the inevitability of that deployment, We cannot try and convince ourselves that because something is illegal, Donald Trump will not do it. [ Bernie Sanders demands that RFK Jr step down as health secretary ](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/30/bernie-sanders-rfk-jr-resign) “Partnership is critically important in fighting back against Donald Trump. Can you imagine Andrew Cuomo working together with \[New York attorney general Letitia\] James to … fight back against the deployment? Why would he fight back when it’s Donald Trump trying to get him elected right now?” Saturday’s event followed shortly after New York City mayor Eric Adams reaffirmed his plan to remain in the closely watched mayoral race. Adams’ decision came despite [reports](https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/trump-discussed-roles-adams-sliwa-clear-path-cuomo/6383831/) that Trump has been allegedly [encouraging him](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/09/05/trump-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-ambassador-saudi-arabia/85990884007/) to drop out of the race in order to help Cuomo beat Mamdani. Mamdani emphasized the need to mobilize ahead of November’s elections, saying he aims to scale up the record-breaking 52,000 volunteers who rallied behind his campaign during the primaries to 90,000 volunteers this fall. As Mamdani and Sanders prepared to head off stage, Sanders addressed the crowd one last time, pointing to the American oligarchy and saying: “They have wealth. They have the power. You know what we got? We have the people.”