Bernie Sanders Advocates for Future in Kalamazoo Amid 'Fighting Oligarchy' Tour
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — More than one year before the midterm elections, Bernie Sanders came to Kalamazoo to tell a large crowd to look to the future.
As part of his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour, he endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and laid out his prescriptions for today's political problems.
The Miller Auditorium was packed and cheered for the Independent senator from Vermont as he walked on stage.
Sanders touched on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Trump cabinet in his 45 minutes on stage, but saved most of his firepower for the state of our economy, saying wealth inequality has never been so large in American history.
"The American people will not tolerate oligarchy, will not tolerate authoritarianism," Sanders said.
Over six months, he’s visited swing states like North Carolina and Pennsylvania, with Michigan his latest stop.
He began by calling Congress ‘corporately owned’ and blasting campaign finance laws he says benefit both Democrats and Republicans.
He criticized Elon Musk’s work at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling it a reward for the millions he spent on the 2024 campaign.
"If any of you want to become an important person in government, all you have to do is find a candidate, raise $270 million and you're in business," Sanders said.
He dedicated relatively little of his speech to the Trump Administration, focusing instead on government programs like Medicare and on wages.
He pointed out that the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, and called for it to be raised to $17.
Sanders was animated when talking about the average life expectancy in the United States claiming it is lower than other developed nations.
"If you are working class in this country, you will live seven years shorter lives than the wealthy," Sanders said.
The other half of the rally was given to U.S. Senate candidate and former Detroit Public Health Director Abdul El-Sayed.
He told the crowd his disdain for the Big Beautiful Bill signed into law, saying it guts Medicare.
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He described Sanders as the “OG” on taking corporations to task among Congressional members, and led his supporters in a chant of "money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for all."
Sanders concluded by expressing concern about artificial intelligence, and desiring a return to a sense of community he feels is lacking in modern America.
He described 2025 as a tough time for the country, but said there isn’t anything we can’t do as the wealthiest country on earth.
"It's time we started thinking big, not small," he told the crowd.
Reacting to Sanders’ speech, Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers made a statement: "Socialist Sanders just reminded us all that Democrats would rather increase your taxes than your paychecks, and his record backs it. He voted to tax your tips, tax your overtime, tax your social security, deny expanded child tax credits — and Michigan’s Mamdani said he’d do the same. For working families, these tax cuts can make the difference of whether they get by through the end of the month. Michigan Democrats say tax them anyway. They’ve completely walked away from working families."
Sanders will head to Chicago Sunday for the next stop on the "Fighting Oligarchy" tour.