Powerful Speech: “We Don’t Accept Kings!” Bernie Sanders Fires Up Minnesota

[0:00] Senator Bernie Sanders, there are a lot of people here. Thank you, Minnesota. And let me thank in the visible move on 5051 and all of the organizations that have made this great event possible. And thanks to the millions of Americans from our smallest towns to our largest cities in every [1:01] state in our country who are gathering today at thousands of rallies. It is absolutely appropriate that we hold a major no kings rally right here in the St. Paul, Minneapolis area. When historians write about this dangerous moment in American history, when they write about courage and sacrifice, [1:42] the people of Minnesota will deserve a special chapter for themselves. In the face of unprecedented occupation of this city by ICE, Trump's domestic army, this community stood up and with extraordinary solidarity fought back and won. Minnesota showed the American people that we are not alone. [2:24] And in fact, the world, what democracy is about, what grassroots activism is about, and what standing up for the American ideals of freedom and justice is about. And I want to thank my colleagues, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, for their leadership in the Senate on this issue. And today, we remember and honor two brave Americans. [3:03] Renee Good and Alex Preddy, who lost their lives in the struggle. And we promise their families and their friends that these two heroes will not have died in vain. Their sacrifice has inspired and will continue to inspire the American people in the never-ending struggle for justice. [3:46] All of you know we are living in an unprecedented and dangerous moment in American history. In many ways, the future of our country, and in fact, the entire world, is hanging in the balance. And the actions that we take now will determine what the future looks like. [4:15] The choices that we face are clear. [4:22] In a country in the history of the world, at a time of massive breakthroughs in technology, we now have the opportunity to create a nation in which all people can enjoy a dignified standard of living, where we wipe out bigotry and hatred, and where all of us can live in peace and participate in a vibrant democracy. [4:58] In a country in the history of the world, at a time of massive breakthroughs in technology, we now have the opportunity to create a nation in which all people can enjoy a dignified standard of living, where we wipe out bigotry and hatred, and where all of us can live in peace and participate in a vibrant democracy. [4:58] And the foundation of our nation is built on love, compassion, human solidarity, and an understanding. [5:17] As your great former senator, the late Paul Wellstone said, we all do better when we all do better. [5:33] And that is one vision for the future. [5:47] And that is one vision that the vast majority of the American people share. [5:52] But there is another vision out there as well, a darker vision. [6:01] It is a vision which says that we must give up on democracy, that we are too stupid and inept to govern ourselves, and that we must put more and more power into the hands of one man. [6:22] Thank you. [6:26] It is a vision that says we should accept an economy in which a handful of oligarchs have unbelievable wealth, while the vast majority of our people struggle to put food on the table. [6:43] It is a vision that says that the only thing that matters in life is the accumulation of money and power, and that it is okay. [7:04] If we lie, cheat, and steal to achieve those goals, it is a vision which says that we are scratched [7:09] It is a vision which says that we must hate each other because of where we were born, hate each other because of a different language that someone speaks, [7:20] It is a vision which says that the political start-up needs to soap up, and it needs to come back to life that way. [7:21] hate each other because of our differences in the color of our skin, or our religion or our sexual orientation, [7:36] COMING UP TO GENERANGELO AND THE TOWN IN CL vinegar [7:38] It is a vision, and I will make a suggestion to parliament about agriculture and biodiversity, on beneficial conditions for agriculture. [7:38] and people to contribute, or to the population and to financed production of a homeowner or a expandin� [7:40] You need to be born and flavoring your Constitution a colonization Education by a bipartisan, artificial agriculture, or state- bars, or a trade union. [7:40] logargh Sims Jr. [7:45] that foments hatred and hatred and hatred division division and division it [7:57] is an Orwellian vision which says that we must live in a constant state of fear [8:06] that we must always have an enemy and that we must always be at war it is a [8:18] vision which says that we have unlimited amounts of money for bombs and guns and [8:27] killing but never enough money to feed our children provide affordable housing [8:35] or enable our parents to retire with dignity today here in Minnesota in [8:47] Vermont and in every state in the country we say [8:52] loudly [8:53] and proudly that as Americans we will never forsake our heritage we will never [9:01] accept authoritarianism we will never accept oligarchy and we will never [9:13] accept a president who is a pathological liar a kleptocrat and a narcissist who [9:25] is undermining the Constitution of the United States and the rules of [9:31] law every day we will never accept government policy [9:43] that gives massive tax breaks the billionaires throws 15 million [9:50] Americans off the health care they have breaks unions denies women the right to [10:01] control their own bodies and is pushing the planet closer and closer to a [10:10] climate crisis in the last [10:17] earline must [10:18] I've been thinking a lot about American history, about the men and women in 1776 who, with [10:30] unbelievable courage, announced to the world that they would no longer be ruled by the [10:37] King of England, who had absolute power over their lives. [10:43] These patriots demanded freedom, and they fought a bloody, revolutionary war against [10:54] the most powerful military in the world to achieve that freedom. [11:00] And they won. [11:07] And after their military victory, they established the first democratic form of government in [11:16] modern history. [11:20] In 1789, they came to power. [11:23] They said loudly and boldly to the entire world, here in this new nation of America, [11:32] we don't want kings. [11:41] And let us never forget the extraordinary and powerful words they left to us, quote, [11:49] we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal as they are endowed [11:57] by their creator with certain unalienable rights. [12:01] That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [12:07] And today, in 2026, our message is exactly the same. [12:22] No more kings. [12:30] We will not allow this country to descend into authoritarianism or oligarchy in America. [12:39] We the people. [12:40] We the people. [12:40] We the people. [12:42] We the people. [12:43] We'll rule. [12:50] But let us be clear. [12:53] This moment is not just about one man's greed, one man's corruption, or one man's contempt [13:04] for our constitution. [13:06] This is about a handful of the wealthiest people on earth who, in their insatiable greed, [13:15] have taken over our economy, have taken over our political system, have taken over our [13:23] media in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the working families of [13:31] our country. Brothers and sisters never before in American history have so few [13:42] had so much wealth and so much power. Never before in American history has [13:50] there been such extreme levels of income and wealth inequality with the top 1% [13:59] now owning, if you can believe it, more wealth than the bottom 93%. Never before [14:12] in American history had we seen the super-rich expand their wealth so [14:20] rapidly. Last year alone, after receiving the largest tax break in history, 938 [14:30] billionaires in America, fewer than 1,000 people, [14:35] were able to make a living. [14:35] Our people became 1.5 trillion dollars richer. Our president, honest Donald Trump, [14:49] became over a billion dollars richer himself. Never before in American history [14:59] have we seen a ruling class within a corrupt campaign finance system spend so [15:08] much money to buy politicians. In the coming midterm elections, [15:14] the billionaires will spend many, many hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure [15:23] that government continues to work for them and not working families. [15:29] Meanwhile, while the richest people in America become much, much richer, 60% of our people [15:42] here in Minnesota, in Vermont, and all over this country are living paycheck to paycheck [15:49] struggling to put food on the table, struggling to pay their rent and their [15:56] mortgage, struggling to pay for childcare and education, and struggling to put a [16:03] few bucks aside for a decent retirement. In America today, tens of thousands of [16:12] our people die every year unnecessarily because they cannot afford to go to a [16:19] doctor. And unless we change how our economy works, our younger generation, our [16:31] kids, for the first time in modern history, will have a lower standard of [16:38] living than their parents. So today, we not only say no to Trump's [16:49] authoritarianism, we say no to Mr. Musk, no to Mr. Bezos and Mr. Zuckerberg and [17:00] no to Donald Trump. [17:00] And Mr. Ellison and all the other multi-billionaires, you cannot have it all. [17:10] We will create an economy that works for all Americans, not just the 1%. [17:18] Brothers and sisters, it is not just the authoritarianism of the Trump administration [17:31] that we must combat. It is not just the oligarchs and their insatiable greed that we [17:40] must combat. It is not just the oligarchs and their insatiable greed that we must [17:40] combat. It is not just the oligarchs and their insatiable greed that we must [17:41] combat. Now, as the news literally of today reminds us, we have got to stop the out-of-control [17:51] militarism of the Trump administration, whether it is here at home in cities like Minneapolis [17:59] and St. Paul or abroad. Let us be honest. The American people were lied to about the war in [18:16] Vietnam. We were lied to. [18:20] We were lied to about the war in Iraq. And we are being lied to today about the war in [18:29] Iran. This war must end immediately. [18:37] In the last election, Donald Trump pointed out correctly the huge amounts of money that [18:49] had been wasted in wars that should have been spent rebuilding America. He campaigned as [18:57] a peace candidate, and he promised no more. [19:02] Our country is a place without war, forever wars. He lied. One month ago, Trump and his [19:16] partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, started a war with Iran. This war is unconstitutional. [19:29] Trump did not seek or receive authorization from Congress. This war is a violation of [19:38] international law. [19:39] One sovereign nation cannot simply go about attacking nation, and not look at the international [19:42] nation. This weapon is only as good as the weapon that was given to us. That is the power of the Unitedона of Israel. [19:42] another sovereign nation for any reason it chooses. Since this war began, 13 [19:58] American soldiers have been killed and hundreds have been wounded, including [20:05] another 12 yesterday. In Iran, nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed and [20:14] many more wounded and 498 schools have been bombed by American and Israeli [20:24] missiles. In Lebanon, more than a thousand people are dead and more than 1 million [20:36] Lebanese people, 15% of their population, have been displaced from their homes. In [20:48] Israel, 20 people have been killed and over [20:51] 5,000 wounded. In the West Bank, Israeli vigilantes are burning down homes and [20:59] killing Palestinians. At a time when gas prices are soaring, when many Americans [21:10] cannot afford the basic necessities of life, it is estimated that this war has [21:17] already cost a trillion dollars. At a time when the American people are [21:28] politically divided, [21:30] there is one issue that is bringing us together. Conservatives, moderates, and [21:39] progressives are speaking out in unison, end this war. And as a U.S. Senator, I want to [22:11] just mention to you about what I intend to do about it. First, we have got to make [22:18] sure that Congress does not send another 200 [22:24] billion dollars to fight this war. Trump's supplemental appropriation for the war in [22:33] Iran must be defeated. Secondly, I will be forcing a vote in the Senate on legislation [22:46] to block the sale of nearly a billion dollars in weapons to the Israeli military for bombs [22:53] and bulldozers. A nation, a government that has committed genocide in Gaza does not [23:07] need more military support from American taxpayers. My fellow Americans, we are all proud to live [23:21] in a country which throughout our history has inspired people throughout the world to [23:30] struggle for freedom, for democracy and justice. And we understand that when we stand together [23:41] and not let demagogues divide us up, we can continue. [23:46] to inspire the world to believe in a brighter future. [23:58] Yes, we can create a vibrant democracy [24:03] by ending Citizens United and not allow [24:07] billionaires to buy elections. [24:15] Yes, we can create an economy that [24:18] works for every man, woman, and child in our country, [24:22] and not just a handful of billionaires. [24:30] Yes, we can make certain that the revolutionary technologies [24:35] of artificial intelligence and robotics [24:39] are used to improve life for all of us, [24:43] and not just make the rich owners of that technology [24:47] even richer. [24:52] Yes, we can and must join the rest [24:56] of the industrialized world and guarantee health care [25:01] as a human right for all of us. [25:03] Yes, instead of spending a trillion dollars a year [25:13] on the military, we can wipe out homelessness [25:17] and build millions of units of low-income and affordable [25:21] housing. [25:25] Yes, in the richest country on Earth, [25:28] we can have the best public educational system in the world, [25:34] tuition free from child care to graduate school. [25:43] Yes, we can expand social care. [25:45] Yes, we can expand social care. [25:45] Yes, we can expand social security and radically improve [25:48] our pension system so that every senior in America [25:52] can retire with dignity. [25:58] Yes, we can raise the minimum wage to a living wage [26:02] and guarantee every worker the right to join a union. [26:11] Yes, we can guarantee that every woman in this country [26:15] has the right to control her own body. [26:25] And yes, when billionaires are paying an effective tax [26:29] rate lower than a truck driver or a nurse, [26:33] we can and must make certain that the top 1% [26:38] and large profitable corporations start paying [26:42] their fair share of taxes. [26:51] My fellow Americans, the establishment, [26:56] including the corporate media and many [27:00] of my colleagues in Congress, want you to believe [27:05] that you are powerless. [27:07] They want you to believe that you are powerless. [27:09] They want you to believe that you cannot change the status quo, [27:14] that because of their wealth and their influence, [27:18] there is nothing you can do to combat them. [27:23] But that is a lie throughout the history of our country. [27:31] When Americans have stood up and fought for justice, [27:35] they have prevailed. [27:38] The founders of our country did it [27:41] when they stood up to King George. [27:43] The abolitionists did it. [27:45] The working class did it when they ended slavery. [27:48] The working class did it when they stood up to their bosses [27:53] and formed unions. [27:57] The suffragettes did it when they demanded [28:00] that women have the right to vote. [28:05] The LGBT community did it when they demanded basic human rights. [28:11] Time and time again, in difficult moments [28:19] in American history, our people stood up, fought back, [28:25] and won. [28:28] They did it then. [28:30] We can and will do it now. [28:39] Today, March 28, 2026, millions of Americans [28:45] are out on the street demanding freedom, democracy, and justice. [28:53] But we must make certain today is not the end of our struggle. [29:00] It is the beginning. [29:06] Together, when we stand united, we will win. [29:09] We can and will create the kind of nation that you and I know that we can become. [29:19] Thank you all very much.