Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at Coachella to urge young people to oppose Trump’s oppressive policies. This took place after a rally given in Los Angeles as part of a Western Tour. Sanders made his remark just before introducing the festival’s next performer, a singer-songwriter named Clairo.
According to The New York Times Sanders said “This country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation. We need you to stand up to fight for justice, to fight for economic justice, social justice and racial justice.” Upon mentioning the President the crowd booed and Sanders responded by saying “I agree.”
Bernie Sanders’ appearance at Coachella was his way of using his popularity with the younger crowd to inspire them to fight back against Presidential oppression. Bernie Sanders became a meme when he was seen sleeping at former President Biden’s inauguration wearing a mask and gloves. The meme went viral among the younger generation and that same generation finds themselves at Coachella every year.
According to CNBC Brendan Smialowski, the photojournalist responsible for the meme said “Sen. Sanders has a very well defined brand and image. He is who he is and he’s comfortable in that and it’s very much part of his politics.” when he was asked why he thought people took to the photo the way they did.
This sentiment echoes in his Coachella appearance. He went to a festival full of young people who enjoyed the meme to appeal to them to fight back against Donald Trump. His appearance was one stop of many in his “Fighting Oligarchy” which was designed to convince grass roots Americans and areas that are dominated by the GOP to push back against the President.
According to The Nation, the tour started off modestly on February 21st in Omaha where the tour began to gain traction. Thousands upon thousands came by the time he made it to Kenosha, Wisconsin in early March only a couple weeks after the first city. He moved from theater venues and stadiums to outdoor venues.
Part of Sanders’ call to action as quoted by The Nation is “That is what this struggle is about! One hundred fifty years later, it’s the same struggle.… We believe in a government of the people, by the people, for the people—not a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class.”
He took this sentiment to his biggest crowd yet: Coachella. Sanders upgraded to the mother of all outdoor venues in his tour and to the biggest crowd he could ask for. His goal is to create as much push back from the younger generation and the GOP against the GOP. He urged the Coachella crowd to stand up and fight back against the extreme and backhanded policies the Trump Administration has championed over the last few months in office.
Leave a Reply