Senator Bernie Sanders believes that the United States is on the brink of a “political revolution,” following a series of democratic socialist victories across the country.
The Vermont independent and former presidential candidate made the remarks in a video posted to social media this week, ahead of July 4, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
In the 10-minute address, Sanders reflected on the current political landscape and the direction of the progressive movement he has long championed.
“As I think all of you know, our political revolution, our grass roots movement, was never ever about electing one person to become president of the United States, not Bernie Sanders, not anybody else,” Sanders, 84, said. “We are a movement to elect progressives at every level to fight for a government that represents all of us and not just the one percent.”
With that in mind, he said recent developments have given him reason for optimism. The four-term senator highlighted Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, who defeated longtime Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in a Colorado House primary Tuesday. Sanders called that a “huge upset victory.”
The Vermonter also pointed to New York City, where three candidates backed by democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani won House primaries last month, as well as a billionaire wealth tax measure that qualified for the ballot in California.
“I think there is a growing consensus that our agenda is the agenda of the American people,” Sanders said in the video. “I believe that it may just be possible that this country is on the verge of the political revolution we have fought for for such a long time.”
Sanders — who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016 and 2020 — said he does not have a “crystal ball to tell you what will happen next.” Even so, he offered advice for the Democratic Party, with which he caucuses, though he is not a member.
“We need a party that is not just in opposition to Trump and his disastrous policies,” Sanders said. “That is vitally important, and progressives are going to lead the way in opposition to Trump. But that is not enough. We need a party that is prepared to take on the greed and the ideology of the oligarchs who now control the economic, media and political life of our nation.”
He then ticked through a slate of policies he believes the party should embrace, including Medicare for All, increasing the minimum wage, overturning Citizens United, building “millions of units” of affordable housing and ending “these endless and horrific wars.”
His comments come as President Donald Trump has sought to highlight internal divisions in the Democratic Party in the wake of progressive victories.
In a Truth Social post railing against “godless” communists last month, the president faulted Democratic leaders for what he characterized as a failure to confront the party’s extreme flank.
“In many ways, they’re allowing them to go their own way,” the president wrote. “They’re afraid they will lose their Election, they’re afraid of conflict. They’re not smart enough or tough enough to fight this plague.”
Trump has previously called Sanders a “communist,” “crazy” and a “wacko.” At other times, however, he has praised the Vermont senator. In 2019, Trump said: “Personally, I think he missed his time… But I like Bernie because he is one person that you know on trade, he sort of would agree on trade.”
