Sisters and brothers -

When I took the stage at the No Kings in Washington, D.C. yesterday and looked out at the crowd, I could see people for what seemed like miles away.

Organizers say 200,000 people attended.

But it was not just in Washington, D.C. All across the country there were more people out on the streets in more communities all across our country than ever before in American history.

These people are showing up -- Democrats, Independents and even some Republicans -- to say NO to oligarchy, NO to authoritarianism, NO to kleptocracy, and NO to the unchecked rule of an unstable megalomaniac who wants more and more power into his own hands.

Please read my speech from yesterday's event. When you are done, share it with a friend. At the bottom of this note you'll also see a link where you can contribute to help me organize and mobilize progressives all across the country ahead of the next election. I would appreciate it if you could chip-in a few dollars.

- Bernie Sanders

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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 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 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 the 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’s be clear: This 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 everyone else.

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’m 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 this country 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, 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 a 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 these 15 million people of the health care they have, 50,000 of them will die unnecessarily every single year. 50,000 people.

But that’s not all. As a result of that same 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 the insurance companies that their health care premiums would triple, or even quadruple. Got that? And this 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, Americans are going to see a doubling or tripling of their health care premiums.

And why? 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 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 health care and causes 50,000 unnecessary deaths per year.

No. I will not vote for a budget that doubles premiums, on average, for 20 million Americans and forces Americans to pay 40 or 50% of their limited incomes for 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.

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.

And let’s be clear: Ending the shutdown is not just about saving our health care system, as important as that is. It is about saying clearly, once and for all, that we will not live under the rule of one man.

My fellow Americans: We are the greatest country in the history of the world. And when we stand together and don’t let demagogues 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 it?

So, now let me be very clear: 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? Look around at this huge crowd here in Washington.

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 across our country than ever before in American history.

This is not the end. This is just the beginning.

Together, 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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