On the road for democracy and justice -- Bernie Sanders

I will be doing town meetings in Omaha, Nebraska, this Friday night and Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday morning.
Further, in the coming weeks and months, I and other progressives will be holding grassroots events from coast to coast.
Why, at this moment, are we doing town meetings around the country
– especially in conservative areas?
The answer is obvious.
️Trumpism will not be defeated by politicians inside the DC beltway.
It will only be defeated by millions of Americans, in every state in this country, coming together in a strong, grassroots movement which says no to oligarchy,
no to authoritarianism,
no to kleptocracy,
no to massive cuts in programs that working people desperately need,
no to huge tax breaks for the richest people in our country.

And that’s what these events are about.
Further, there are a number of congressional districts where Republicans won by only a small number of votes.
With the Republican party in the House having only a three-vote majority we can defeat draconian, anti-working-class legislation if just two Republican members of Congress vote no.
And they will vote no if we rally their constituents to demand that they vote no.

Can Trumpism be defeated?
--Absolutely!

But, if we’re going to make that happen, we need to know exactly what we’re up against and how we can best go forward.
Here’s just some of what we need to know:
Trumpism has an unlimited amount of #money to throw into its efforts.
Elon Musk, the wealthiest man on earth, put more than $270m into Donald Trump’s campaign, a tiny portion of his fortune.
Other multibillionaires will join Musk in spending whatever it takes.

Trumpism has significant control over large parts of the #media from which millions of Americans get their information.
Fox and Musk’s platform X, among others, are not normal media outlets.
Their basic function is not to cover the “news” but to spread rightwing extremist ideology.

Trumpism is utilizing the concept of the “#big #lie” in a way that has never, in this country, been seen.
Day after day, blatantly dishonest statements and conspiracy theories are propagated – and repeated over and over and over again.

Trumpism does not believe in #democracy or the rule of #law.
Trump recently posted:
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
In other words, Trump believes that he can do anything he wants for any reason.
He can ignore Congress or the courts. He is above the law.

But, while Trump consolidates power into his own hands, there is another reality going on.
Today, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck;
millions are earning starvation wages;
85 million are uninsured or under-insured;
young people are unable to afford the cost of college;
25% of seniors live on $15,000 a year or less;
we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth,
and we have a major shortage in low-income and affordable housing.

Oh, and by the way, we’re losing the struggle against the #climate crisis
– an existential threat to the future of the planet.

And here’s the kicker. While Trump moves us away from democracy,
while the middle class continues to decline,
the wealthiest people in the country have never ever had it so good.
Today, the three major oligarchs, Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, are worth $905bn
– that is more wealth than the bottom half of American society
– 170 million people.
And, incredibly, since Trump’s election their wealth has grown by $217bn.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/19/trumpism-bernie-sanders?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other