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No Kings! We’re Here Because We Love America
This is not the end. This is just the beginning. Together, when we stand united, we will create the kind of nation that you and I know we can become. A nation devoted to freedom, justice and democracy.
Oct 20, 2025
The following remarks, as prepared for delivery, were given by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at the No Kings rally in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 18, 2025:
Thank you, Washington. What a great turnout.
Thank you, Indivisible, for your fantastic organizing.
Thank you to the millions of Americans, from our smallest towns to our largest cities, in every state in our country, who are gathering today at thousands of rallies.
Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, called these rallies “hate America“ events. Boy. Does he have that wrong. Millions of Americans are coming out today not because they “hate America.” We’re here because we love America.
We’re here because we’re going to do everything we can to honor the sacrifices of millions of men and women who, over the last 250 years, fought and sometimes died to defend our democracy and our freedoms.
In 1776, with extraordinary courage, the founders of our country announced to the world that they would no longer be ruled by the king of England, who had absolute power over their lives. They demanded freedom. And to bring that about they fought a bloody war against the British Empire and the most powerful military in the world. Tens of thousands of Americans died in that 8-year war - but our forefathers fought on and they won.
And in 1789, after winning that war, they did something extraordinary. They established the first democratic form of government in modern history. They said loudly and boldly to the entire world: No more kings.
In America, We the People will rule.
And today, in the year 2025, in this dangerous moment in American history, our message is exactly the same. No, President Trump, we don’t want you or any other king to rule us. Thank you very much, but we will maintain our democratic form of society. We will not move toward authoritarianism. In America, We the People will rule.
When he was sworn in as the nation’s first president, George Washington called this attempt at self-government an “experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
My fellow Americans: In an unprecedented way, that experiment is now in danger.
It is in danger when we have a president who wants more and more power in his own hands - and in the hands of his fellow Oligarchs.
It is in danger when we have a president who claims that peaceful protest in Portland, OR or Chicago, IL is an “insurrection” and calls in the U.S. military. And then threatens to arrest the mayors and governors who resist him.
It is in danger when we have masked agents working for ICE breaking down doors, throwing people into vans without due process and taking them to God knows where.
It is in danger when we have a president who sues and intimidates the media, who wants no criticism of himself or his policies and who undermines the First Amendment of our Constitution - the very foundation of our democracy.
Our country is in danger when we have a president who threatens to arrest or imprison political opponents who stand against him - including the Attorney General of New York State, a sitting US Senator and the Governor of California.
It is in danger when we have a president who undermines freedom of thought and dissent at our colleges and universities, and who attacks law firms that oppose him in court.
It is in danger when we have a president who threatens to impeach judges who rule against him.
It is in danger when we have a president who ignores Congress, refuses to spend money that Congress appropriates and takes away money from states that voted against him.
It is in danger when we have a president who demands that states redraw congressional maps to ensure that his chosen candidates win future elections.
It is in danger when we have a President who illegally fires tens of thousands of federal employees right here in Washington, DC and throughout our country, and rips up union contracts that workers have fought for and won.
It is in danger when we have a President who grossly violates the Constitution by accepting gifts from foreign leaders – including a $400 million plane from the royal family of Qatar – and then allows that family to build an air force facility in Idaho.
But let us be clear: This moment is not just about one man’s greed, one man’s corruption or one man’s contempt for our Constitution. This is about a handful of the wealthiest people on earth who, in their insatiable greed, have hijacked our economy and our political system in order to enrich themselves at the expense of working families throughout the country.
Yes. I’m talking about Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and the other multi-billionaires who were sitting right behind Donald Trump when he was inaugurated – the very same billionaires who funded his campaign, who have bestowed gifts upon him and who have seen huge increases in their wealth and power since Trump took office.
Yes, I am talking about the insanity of one person, Mr. Musk, now owning more wealth than the bottom 52% of American households.
I’m talking about the incredible injustice of the top 1% in America now owning more wealth than the bottom 93%.
I'm talking about the richest people in America becoming much, much richer, while 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck, struggling every day to pay their rent and mortgages, pay for childcare and education, pay for their health care and prescription drugs, afford decent quality food for their kids and put aside a few bucks for their retirements.
I am talking about our nation, the richest country in the history of the world, having the highest rate of childhood and senior poverty of almost any major country on earth.
I am talking about our great nation having 85 million Americans uninsured or underinsured and 800,000 people who are homeless – including people a few blocks from here – while Mr. Musk is on his way to becoming a trillionaire.
I am talking about the incredible danger of the richest people in this country pouring many hundreds of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence and robotics which, in the next decade, will decimate tens of millions of jobs for the American working class.
I am talking about a billionaire class who believe they have the divine right to rule, and who not only want massive tax breaks for themselves, but who reject any form of accountability or checks on their power.
My fellow Americans: We rejected the divine right of kings in the 1700’s. We will not accept the divine right of oligarchs today.
And now let’s take a look at where we are today on the 18th day of a government shutdown, which is depriving millions of federal employees of the paychecks they desperately need and deserve.
Let me cut to the chase and tell you exactly what this shutdown is all about. As a result of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which made massive cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, 15 million low-income and working-class Americans are going to lose the health care they desperately need.
My friends, studies suggest that when you throw those 15 million people of the health care they presently have, 50,000 of them will die unnecessarily every single year. 50,000 Americans will die unnecessarily.
But that’s not all. As a result of that same terrible piece of legislation, over 20 million Americans are going to see, on average, a doubling of their health insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act.
In my state of Vermont, just the other day, people received notices from insurance companies that their health care premiums, in some cases, would triple, or even quadruple. Got that? And that is going on all over the country. At a time when we are already paying, by far, the highest prices in the world for health care, millions of Americans are going to see a doubling or tripling of their health care premiums.
And why? Why is that happening? Why are the Republicans making a broken health care system, a dysfunctional health care system, even worse? Why are they bringing our health care system to the verge of collapse? And we all know the answer. It was to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos, Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Ellison and the rest of the 1%.
One trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid and the ACA. A trillion dollars in tax breaks for the 1%.
That, my friends, is what this shutdown is about.
And let me be very clear: No. I will not vote for a budget that throws 15 million Americans off their health care and causes 50,000 unnecessary deaths per year.
No. I will not vote for a budget that doubles premiums for 20 million Americans and forces Americans to pay 40 or 50% of their limited incomes on health care.
No. I will not vote for a budget that forces nursing homes, rural hospitals and community health centers to lay off staff and close their doors throughout this country – all to give huge tax breaks to people who don’t need them.
Today, I say to my Republican colleagues: Come back from your monthlong vacation, start negotiating and do not allow the American health care system to be destroyed. End this shutdown.
My fellow Americans: We are the greatest country in the history of the world. And when we stand together and don’t let demagogues to divide us up, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish.
Yes, we can create a vibrant democracy by ending Citizens United and not allowing billionaires to buy elections.
Yes, we can join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all people as a human right.
Yes, we can take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and no longer pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.
Yes, we can build millions of units of low-income and affordable housing and allow our younger generation to enjoy the American Dream with a home of their own.
Yes, we can make public colleges and universities tuition-free and have the best childcare and public school system in the entire world.
Yes, we can expand Social Security so that every senior in this country can retire with dignity.
Yes, we can raise the minimum wage to a living wage and guarantee every worker the right to join a union.
Yes, we can lead the world in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels and create millions of good-paying jobs as we save the planet.
Yes, we can guarantee that every woman in this country has the right to control her own body.
Yes, we can have a foreign policy that guarantees that never again will American taxpayer dollars be used to starve children in Gaza or any place else.
And now, let me raise the question that I’ve been asked over and over again: Bernie, great ideas, but how are you going to pay for them?
Great question. Thanks for asking.
At a time when the wealthiest people in America have never ever had it so good, at a time when billionaires are paying an effective tax rate lower than a truck driver or nurse, yes, the top 1% and large profitable corporations will pay their fair share in taxes.
My fellow Americans: The Establishment, including the corporate media and many of my colleagues in Congress, want you to believe that you are powerless. They want you to believe that you cannot change the status quo. But that’s a lie.
Throughout the history of our country, when Americans have stood up and fought for justice, they have prevailed.
When the Founders stood up to King George, they were told it was impossible. But they won.
When abolitionists fought to end slavery, they were told it was impossible. But they won.
When workers organized to form unions and stood up to their bosses, they were told it was impossible. But they won.
When women demanded the right to vote, they were told it was impossible. But they won.
When Black Americans fought to end segregation, they were told it was impossible. But they won.
When the LGBT community stood up for their rights, they were told it was impossible. But they won.
They did it then. We can and will do it now.
How do I know we will succeed? Take a look at this huge crowd right here in Washington, DC, our nation’s capital.
But it’s not just here. As I understand it, today, October 18, 2025, there are more people out on the streets in more communities all over across our country than we have ever seen in American history.
But let’s be clear: This is not the end. This is just the beginning.
Together, when we stand united, we will create the kind of nation that you and I know we can become. A nation devoted to freedom, justice and democracy.
Thank you all very much.
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Unions Ready for 'Righteous Fight' as Sanders, Dems Reintroduce PRO Act
"We know it won't be easy," said the AFL-CIO president. "There's no fight more righteous than ensuring that every single worker who wants a union has a fair shot to join or form one."
Mar 05, 2025
As U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congressman Bobby Scott reintroduced the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act on Wednesday, labor union leaders prepared to fight for the legislation that would strengthen workers' rights.
While Sanders (I-Vt.) and Scott (D-Va.) have long led the battle for the bill on Capitol Hill, most Democrats in Congress—including both minority leaders—also support the PRO Act, which features a wide range of policies intended to hold companies accountable for violating employees' rights and make it easier for workers to form and negotiate with a union.
"Never before in the history of our nation have income and wealth inequality been greater than today. Workers are falling further and further behind. In response, millions of Americans have expressed their desire to join a union," Sanders said in a statement. "However, the billionaire class is fighting with all its might to put down attempts by workers to exercise their constitutional right to unionize."
The PRO Act's reintroduction comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk work to gut the federal government while congressional Republicans—who have narrow majorities in both chambers—work to cut healthcare and food assistance programs that serve working-class people to fund tax giveaways for the ultrawealthy and corporations.
"Congress has an urgent responsibility to ensure that workers can join a union and negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces."
Sanders pointed to Trump's decision "to illegally fire National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox and effectively shut down the NLRB," and warned that "without a functioning NLRB, corporate bosses can illegally fire unionizing workers, flagrantly violate labor laws and render free and fair union elections near impossible."
"Supporting the immediate reinstatement of Member Wilcox and the swift passage of the PRO Act would be major steps toward building real worker power," added the senator, who is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. "The PRO Act is long overdue and I am proud to be introducing this bill."
Scott also framed the bill as a necessity, saying that "unions are essential for building a strong middle class and improving the lives of workers and families. Regrettably, for too long, workers have suffered from anti-union attacks and toothless labor laws that undermined their right to form a union."
"As union approval remains at record highs, Congress has an urgent responsibility to ensure that workers can join a union and negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces," he argued. "The PRO Act is the most critical step Congress can take to uplift American workers. I urge my House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in advancing the most significant update for workers' labor organizing rights in over 80 years."
Labor leaders also called on members of Congress across the political spectrum to back the bill—which largely lacks GOP support, but is co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).
"In too many workplaces, in too many industries across the country, big corporations and billionaire CEOs still retaliate against us for organizing," said AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler, who has led the federation since the bill's namesake, Trumka, died in 2021.
"They refuse to negotiate our contracts, force us to sit through hours of anti-union propaganda and engage in illegal union-busting every day," she said of companies and executives. "Now they have an unelected, unaccountable union-buster trying to illegally fire tens of thousands of our fellow workers in federal jobs and an administration rolling back the workplace protections."
Shuler added that "we know it won't be easy, but the labor movement never backs down from a righteous fight. And in today's economy, where our workers' hard-earned paychecks are covering less of what they need while still facing unsafe conditions and a lack of respect on the job, there's no fight more righteous than ensuring that every single worker who wants a union has a fair shot to join or form one."
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees president Lee Saunders reiterated AFSCME's support for the legislation on Wednesday, calling out billionaires and big business for "anti-union extremism" that "is deepening economic inequality, halting progress on health and safety, and harming millions."
"The PRO Act will loosen billionaires' grip on our economic future and make clear that their days of using illegal union busting tactics without consequence are over," he said. "This legislation will level the playing field, giving workers the legal protections they need to organize without fear of retaliation or obstruction. It's about time Congress prioritized workers over billionaires and gave them a fair shot at improving their workplaces."
Other groups that support the PRO Act include the American Federation of Teachers, Communications Workers of America, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Nurses United, Service Employees International Union, United Autoworkers, and United Steelworkers, among others.
The right to a union means fair wages, benefits, and security—but corporate greed stands in the way," the Laborers' International Union of North America said on social media Wednesday. "The PRO Act fights back! Congress must choose: Stand with working people or bow to Wall Street. The time is now!"
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Working-Class Unity Key to Defeating Oligarchy, Says Sanders in Response to Trump SOTU
"We can win. We will win," said the senator. "Let's go forward together."
Mar 05, 2025
If working-class people in the United States were wondering why President Donald Trump had "very little to say about the REAL crises facing the working class of this country" in his State of the Union address, said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders Tuesday night, they need look no further than the people Trump surrounded himself with at his inauguration in January.
"Standing right behind him were the three wealthiest men in the country," said the Vermont Independent senator, naming billionaire mogul and "special government employee" Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "And standing behind THEM were 13 other billionaires who Trump had nominated to head major government agencies. Many of these same billionaires—including Musk—were there tonight."
Despite Trump's repeated campaign promises to address the rising cost of living for working people, said Sanders, the State of the Union address offered the latest proof that "the Trump administration IS a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class."
Watch Sanders' address in full:
LIVE: President Trump’s Congressional Address needs a response. Here’s mine. https://t.co/O9yN04isIw
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 5, 2025
Sanders amplified the message he has sent on his National Tour to Fight Oligarchy—which he is scheduled to continue this week with stops in Warren, Michigan on Saturday and Kenosha, Wisconsin on Friday.
The senator called on working people of all racial identities, religions, and sexual orientations to join together to fight Trump's agenda and the billionaires who would benefit from his tax cuts, slashes to essential public services like Medicaid and food assistance, and efforts to divide people by demonizing immigrants, transgender people, and people of color.
"Yes, the oligarchs ARE enormously powerful. They have endless amounts of money. They control our economy. They own much of the media. They have enormous influence over our political system," said Sanders. "But, from the bottom of my heart, I am convinced that they can be beaten."
"If we stand together and not let them divide us up by the color of our skin or where we were born or our religion or sexual orientation; if we bring our people together around an agenda that works for the many and not the few—there is nothing in the world that can stop us," he said.
In his address, Sanders remained laser-focused on issues that impact working people—raising the federal minimum wage of just $7.25 per hour to a living wage of $17 per hour, repealing the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling to end corporate influence over elections, and Trump's desire to pass a "big, beautiful" budget that would cut Medicaid by $880 billion, leaving up to 36 million Americans, including millions of children, without health insurance.
His response to the State of the Union address contrasted sharply with parts of the Democratic Party's official response given by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who spoke out against the "unprecedented giveaway" Trump wants to give "to his billionaire friends" but also signaled the party leadership's disinterest in focusing primarily on issues that impact working people when she spoke positively about former Republican President Ronald Reagan.
"After the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling over in his grave," Slotkin said, referring to Trump and Vice President JD Vance's attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "As a Cold War kid, I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s."
Historian Moshik Temkin wondered why the Democratic Party chose to hold up Reagan as a positive example of a president—considering his deregulatory, anti-taxation policies and promotion of so-called "trickle-down economics" that helped pave the way for rising economic inequality and the decimation of the middle class—instead of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who introduced Social Security, reformed the financial system, and provided relief to people who were suffering due to the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression.
"Who was this for?" asked historian Michael Brenes of Slotkin's address. "You don't rebuild the New Deal coalition with Cold War nostalgia and deference to Ronald Reagan. A better message: national security begins with economic security."
In contrast, Sanders' response, said former journalist and author Paul Handley, "is how you respond to Trump and define him for the American people."
Sanders ended his address by acknowledging the challenge of fighting against a political system increasingly controlled by billionaires, but warned, "despair is not an option."
"Giving up is not acceptable," said Sanders. "And none of us have the privilege of hiding under the covers. The stakes are just too high. Let us never forget. Real change only occurs when ordinary people stand up against oppression and injustice—and fight back."
"We can win. We will win," he concluded. "Let's go forward together."
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