Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - "Not All Dems Are The Same"
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Fast Money & Foreign Objects
AOC Puts Her Own Spin on Bernie Sanders’s Pitch at Las Vegas Rally
The two progressive leaders, one young and one old, are touring Western cities with a similar message but a key difference in how they sell it.
Videos of Bernie Sanders and AOC rally crowd sizes take off online
"We have never, ever had a rally as large as this," Sanders told a crowd in Denver on Friday.
www.newsweek.com
Videos of Bernie Sanders and AOC Rally Crowd Sizes Take Off Online
– Published Mar 22, 2025 at 12:30 PM EDT
Videos of massive crowds turning out for rallies held by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders , a Vermont independent, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , a New York Democrat, have taken off online—showing thousands in attendance.
Newsweek reached out to Sanders' and Ocasio-Cortez's press representatives for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Democrats have struggled to respond to President Donald Trump , his billionaire ally Elon Musk and congressional Republicans in the wake of their defeat in last year's election. Polling shows approval of the party and its representatives in Congressat record lows .
However, Sanders' and Ocasio-Cortez's efforts appears to be breaking through with many in the country. Thousands have turned out in multiple states to attend their rallies as part of the "Fight the Oligarchy" tour.
What To Know
On Thursday evening, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez spoke to a crowd of some 15,000 in Phoenix, according to the senator's communications director Anna Bahr. Photos and videos from the event showed the Arizona State University's Mullett Arena packed, with the Arizona Mirror reporting that Trump's rally in the same facility last year "drew considerably fewer people."
"What does MAGA think about this Crowd size for a Senator ands congresswoman? This is the energy democrats need," Brian Krassenstein, an online commentator with over 860,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter , wrote with a video of Ocasio-Cortez walking out on stage to a loudly cheering crowd.
The clip had some 1.4 million views as of Saturday morning.
Bahr wrote on X that "more than 123,000 people" also watched the Arizona event live online.
"Just to be clear about the moment we're in: @BernieSanders biggest crowd in Phoenix previously was 11,300 in 2015 when he was *running for president.* Tonight, in a non-campaign year, when he is running for nothing, **15,000** Arizonans turned out. This is a big deal," she posted.
An even bigger crowd turned out for the duo's Friday rally at Denver's Civic Center Park. Colorado Public Radio reported some 34,000 were in attendance.
"Impressive! People are clearly angry at how things are going," Krassenstein wrote, sharing another video panning over the massive Colorado crowd.
The clip had been viewed more than 790,000 times as of Saturday morning.
Olivia, a Denver resident who attended the rally but did not want to share her full name due to privacy concerns, told Newsweek that she was unable to get into the rally as the line was too long.
"There was a huge, huge line to get in," she said. "We were trying to get into the line, but we actually literally never found the end of it. We gave up and stood at a fence on the perimeter and watched the rally from there."
Mary Ann Bennett, another Denver resident who attended the event, told Newsweek she showed up at the rally because she is "not happy" with the Trump administration. "I showed up for my queer, trans, nonbinary friends who are feeling afraid right now," she said.
Sanders, who caucuses with SenateDemocrats and twice sought the party's presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, announced in February that he'd be launching a national tour to "take on the oligarchy." The senator, along with many Democrats, has sounded the alarm about Trump's and Musk's efforts to make significant cuts to the federal government via the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Trump administration's defenders say these cuts are necessary to address waste and fraud in the federal government. They also raise concerns about the ballooning national debt, saying drastic action is needed to address the issue.
"In my opinion, what Musk and those around him are aggressively striving for is not novel. It is not complicated, and it is not new. It is what ruling classes throughout history have always wanted and have always believed is theirs by right: more power, more control and more wealth," Sanders said in a video announcing the tour. "They don't want ordinary people—that's you—and democracy getting in their way."
Sanders, 83, aims to visit "working class" districts that former President Joe Biden won in 2020, but Republican House members carried in 2024. The tour began on February 21 in Nebraska, and has continued with stops in Wisconsin and Michigan earlier this month.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, and Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, are seen onstage during a rally on March 21 at Civic Center Park in Denver.Chet Strange/Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Senator Bernie Sanders told the crowd in Colorado on Friday:"In the hundreds of rallies that I have done, we have never, ever had a rally as large as this. And Denver, your presence here today is not just significant for Colorado. You are sending a profound message all over the world. The whole world is watching, and they want to know if the people of America are going to stand up to Trumpism, oligarchy and authoritarianism."
Anna Bahr, Sanders' communications director on X:"In 2016, @BernieSanders biggest crowd was 28,356 at Prospect Park, Brooklyn. He was running for president. In 2019, his largest crowd was 25,872 in Queensbridge Park, NY. He was running for president. Tonight, 34,000 people came out in Denver. He isn't running for anything."
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the Denver rally:"I don't believe in health care, labor and human dignity because I'm an extremist. I believe these things because I was a waitress. Because I scrubbed toilets with my mom to afford school. Because I've worked double shifts to keep the lights on. Because I did lose my dad as a kid and had to see my mom open the hospital bills a few days later, and I don't want us to live like this anymore. We deserve better."
Denver resident Mary Ann Bennett told Newsweek : "The Democratic Party has not been taking strong actions for the working class. Bernie and AOC acknowledged this, which is step one, and then laid out their plans for action which were met with strong cheers from the 30,000 people who showed up."
What Happens Next?
The senator and congresswoman will hold another rally on Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Arizona.
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, is touted by some Democrats as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Recent polling by CNN showed the New York progressive in first place among potential 2028 Democratic candidates with 10 percent support. Former Vice President Kamala Harris , who lost to Trump last year, was in second place with 9 percent. Sanders came in third place with 8 percent support.
Update 3/22/25, 5:35 p.m. ET: Comment from another rally-goer was added.
Update 3/22/25, 3:23 p.m. ET: Comment from a rally-goer was added.
AOC and Sanders need to be in the deep south.
milqtoast states will not cut it.
You need to get the black southerner turn out to near 100 percent
And you need to talk some sense in these poor white southerners
milqtoast states will not cut it.
You need to get the black southerner turn out to near 100 percent
And you need to talk some sense in these poor white southerners
the cac mamba
Veteran
she has to win schumers seat first, to prove shes a serious person. probably in 2034
that's gonna mean shaking off the far left bullshyt that some people have a problem with me calling out
and a lot of that includes just leaving people the fukk alone. no one wants to hear her shrill voice yelling at people about buying electric cars, and not eating hamburgers
also, shes 35, so you have to factor in her having a kid in the next few years
Some on here have said why on earth would they prioritize black people over our economically distressed neighbors.
We may just have to let them finish up going where they want and maybe if they have some spare time they can get to them.
She’s kissed mama bears ring. She’s already proven she can pivot when needed. She’ll do it again when it’s politically convenient.she has to win schumers seat first, to prove shes a serious person. probably in 2034
that's gonna mean shaking off the far left bullshyt that some people have a problem with me calling out
and a lot of that includes just leaving people the fukk alone. no one wants to hear her shrill voice yelling at people about buying electric cars, and not eating hamburgers
also, shes 35, so you have to factor in her having a kid in the next few years
KFBF
Superstar
I don't think they're capable of doing that. Biden had the Obama rub and the democratic establishment (CBC) behind him. We've seen no indication that the Dem establishment is prepared to embrace the vision that Sanders and AOC are selling.
the cac mamba
Veteran
if Bernie and AOC can't sell 70% of the country on what they're selling, maybe it's time for some accountability and reflection from the far left, on what's poisoning their image
of course, that will never happen. progressives have lost their minds. it's like watching a hostage situation in a bad movie
We've also haven't seen a clear indicator the electorate embraces it either.
Bernie was getting boat raced by Hilary. You can say stolen she beat him and Trump by millions. She just didn't win the EC.
Bernie was cooking in 2020 by a plurality not a majority. If the Republicans did this in 2015 we probably never see Trump. His wins got bigger as the field got smaller. Same thing didn't happen with Bernie. Dems cleared the field and Biden started winning and won the EC. No clear sign that Bernie would have.
There's never an answer if Bernie is so great why when the field is narrow he doesn't dominate? There's also crickets when you bring up Kamala got more votes in 2024 in his state than Bernie did.
Bernies base is loud ass non voters cause if they voted like they claim his appeal is. We definitely should be in his 2nd term.
The “establishment” is the voters you fukking dork.
Pelosi is not going to black people’s homes to tell them how to vote.
People keep forgetting but Bernie’s primary planes were to win with a PLURALITY in 2020 and that why he was so pissed when everyone else dropped out.We've also haven't seen a clear indicator the electorate embraces it either.
Bernie was getting boat raced by Hilary. You can say stolen she beat him and Trump by millions. She just didn't win the EC.
Bernie was cooking in 2020 by a plurality not a majority. If the Republicans did this in 2015 we probably never see Trump. His wins got bigger as the field got smaller. Same thing didn't happen with Bernie. Dems cleared the field and Biden started winning and won the EC. No clear sign that Bernie would have.
There's never an answer if Bernie is so great why when the field is narrow he doesn't dominate? There's also crickets when you bring up Kamala got more votes in 2024 in his state than Bernie did.
Bernies base is loud ass non voters cause if they voted like they claim his appeal is. We definitely should be in his 2nd term.
the cac mamba
Veteran
i thought the established wisdom was that after 2024, we should run a swing state, purple area cac in 2028
where does AbuelaOC factor into that?
where does AbuelaOC factor into that?
Json
Superstar
Cause they haven’t shown they can get things done where Dems can’t?
Didn’t Bernie’s union push in Mississippi Nissan plant still fail?