Tempe, Arizona – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – Champions on the left – Repeated targets President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk have launched a crucial three-day Western swing in the three-day election.
But Sanders, particularly Ocasio-Cortez, trained some of the fires to the Democrats.
Since returning to the White House two months ago, Trump has been in tears, overturning government policies, increasing the president’s powers and significantly reducing the federal workforce through executive orders and actions.
Then Sanders and Cortez took the stage at their first stop in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Trump signed an executive order to launch a long-standing conservative goal of destroying the Department of Education at a White House ceremony.
Bernie Sanders says this is the Democrats’ biggest problem
Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dn.Y. will welcome crowds on Thursday, March 20, 2025 during a “Fighting Olgarkie” tour event at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Ocasio-Cortez accused Trump and his GOP allies of “lied and screwed to workers and middle-class Americans so they can steal the benefits of our healthcare, social security and veterans in order to steal billionaires and veteran benefits, and pay cuts for billionaires and bailouts.
Sanders then accused him of “every day, Trump is trying to take power from Congress. He is trying to take power from the judiciary.”
“Trump has a message: we cannot move this country to Olihead,” emphasized Sanders.
But stopping majority Republicans is creating tension within the party amid increasing calls for leaders to come up with stronger strategies to resist Trump, as Democrats are not able to do so in the White House, or in the House or Senate.
“This isn’t just Republicans,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Arizona crowd. “We need a Democrat who fights harder for us. That means each of us chooses and votes on Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand up for the working class… I want you to support Democrats who look at offices at every level around us and fight because you are someone who can actually beat the Republicans.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y. arrives to speak on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Tempe, Arizona, during the “Combodia Oligarchy” tour event at Arizona State University (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Sanders-Ocasio-Cortez stops attract a large crowd. The Fire Service, Tempe, Arizona, said 11,300 on Arizona State University’s campus packed the mallet arena, with thousands in the overflow section outside the arena.
The tour, dubbed “The Battle with the Oligarchy” by Sanders, continues Friday in Denver and Greeley, Colorado, and closes on Saturday with a rally in Tucson, Arizona.
It has led to Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer facing an increase in fires from his own party last week due to a federal funding bill raised by the Republican-raised by the Chamber of Commerce top Democrat and avoiding government shutdowns.
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Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Sanders mentioned Schumer in his speeches in Las Vegas or Tempe.
And the independent Sanders, who has been long-coast with Democrats and is part of Schumer’s leadership team in the Senate, declined in an interview with Fox News Digital before Tempe Rally, responding whether Schumer agreed to calling for him to step down from his leadership position.
“It’s like inside the Beltway stuff,” Sanders said.
I-Vt. Senator Bernie Sanders will speak at the “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour event at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona on Thursday, March 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
But it was in the minds of some of the people attending the meeting.
There was a chant “Primary Chuck” directed at Ocasio-Cortez at the Las Vegas Rally.
And at Tempe, Sindigerman and Pat Robinson of Prescott, Arizona, told Fox News that they were “really disappointed” by Schumer’s move.
And Amanda Ratlov of Gilbert, Arizona, said Schumer “is not the leader we need right now. We need someone who not only succumbs to Elon Musk and Donald Trump, but actually fights back and fights for the American people.”
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In his speech, Sanders vowed to fight.
“We’re going to fight Trump and his Olihead friends,” he emphasized. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m sure they could be defeated.”
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
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