US Senator Bernie Sanders turned out at a campaign rally for Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Karen Bass on Thursday, October 27.

Footage streamed live to Facebook shows Sanders getting a warm welcome from the crowd.

Sanders endorsed Rep Bass for mayor earlier in October, saying she would stand up to “big money interests” and put “the priorities of working people first,” per a statement reported by NBC Los Angeles. Credit: Karen Bass via Storyful

Video transcript

- I just want to ask Los Angeles-- Los Angeles, do you feel the burn?

[CHEERING]

Do you feel the burn? I want to know how many people here have voted already? Raise your hand. Everybody has their ballots now. So if you have not voted, you go home and vote tonight, because if you feel the burn, then you have to vote and join me in welcoming Senator Bernie Sanders.

[CHEERING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- We love you, Bernie.

BERNIE SANDERS: Thank you. Thank you, LA.

[CHEERING]

And as I-- as I look out at this crowd--

- Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

BERNIE SANDERS: Thank you. But tonight, it is Karen, Karen, Karen--

[CHEERING]

- Karen! Karen! Karen! Karen! Karen! Karen! Karen! Karen!

BERNIE SANDERS: Look, what I came to LA for is to elect a very good and decent human being who has been a leader in Congress on all of the economic, social, racial, and environmental issues that we face.

[CHEERING]

She has been a leader in Congress, and she is going to be the leading mayor of a major city in this country.

[CHEERING]

Now, I want to do something tonight that is not often done by politicians. I'm gonna tell you the truth.

[LAUGHTER]

And the truth is-- the truth is that we live in an unprecedented moment in American history where the challenges we face today are more difficult than at any time in our lifetimes. That is the reality. I wish I could tell you something else, but that is not the case.

So in the midst of these unprecedented moments, we have an unprecedented midterm election. And this entire election, from LA to Vermont and all across this country is whether or not we stand up for justice and decency or we vote for people who are trying to tear us apart.

[CHEERING]

Yes, this issue-- this issue, this campaign is about whether or not women will be able to control their own bodies.

[CHEERING]

Unbelievably, in the year 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States said that women are too dumb to make their own decisions. While we say otherwise, we say the Supreme Court is awfully dumb in terms of their decision.

This campaign is about whether we deal with the existential threat of climate change.

[CHEERING]

And I don't have to tell you what is going on in this country and in the world. We are looking at the last eight years as the warmest years on record. We are looking at more drought, more floods, more extreme weather disturbances. And in terms of disturbances, we're not going to allow a handful of people to disrupt the [INAUDIBLE].

[CHEERING]

- Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!

BERNIE SANDERS: But this-- this national campaign is not just about the right of women to control their own bodies. It's not only about the crisis of climate change. It is about-- and I never would have thought that as a US Senator, I would have to say this-- it is about whether or not this great country remains a democracy.

[CHEERING]

Too many brave men and women have fought and died to defend American democracy. And we're not gonna let Trump and his right-wing extremists deny us what we have fought for. So I got news for all the right-wing extremists out there-- Trump lost the election. Biden won.

[CHEERING]

But when we look at the crises that we face, it's not just Trump and right-wing extremists. When we talk about a vibrant democracy, we have together end a corrupt political system that allows billionaires to buy elections. And they're trying to buy the election here in LA. And they're trying to buy it all over this country.

That is not democracy. And we are together, going to overturn the citizens united decision.

[CHEERING]

And we are going to move to public funding of elections. A young lady just came up to me a few moments ago and she said, Bernie, you inspired me to run for the school board. And I'm so proud of that. And I want all of you to think about jumping into politics and running for office. But I don't want you to have to spend half your lives begging for campaign contributions from billionaires.

[CHEERING]

So this election naturally, is about a woman's-- women's rights. It's about climate change. It is about preserving our democracy. But it is even more than that.

Right now in California, in Vermont, and all over this country, you've got 60% of our people who are living paycheck to paycheck. I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck. And many of you are in the same boat.

And our job as a nation, and as people who are standing up for justice, is to find and create an economy in this country that works for all of us, not just the billionaires.

[CHEERING]

And I want to tell you something that you don't see on TV because these billionaires own the networks. And you don't don't take too much in the newspapers. But here is the reality. While millions and millions of our people struggle today to put food on the table, to put away a few bucks so maybe their kid might be able to get a college education, try to pay the escalating costs of rent, while working families struggle and in many cases, fall further behind, we have never had a moment where the richest people are doing as well as they are today.

So that's what the economy is about, middle class declining, 500,000 people who are homeless, and the billionaire class is making out like bandits because they are bandits. Today, you got more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had in America. Today, three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society.

That is not what America is supposed to be about. Today, the CEOs of the large corporations make 400 times what their workers make. Today, the top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 92%.

And let me tell you something else about these people on top, who are doing so extraordinarily well. You know, we have in this country, a lot of addiction problems. I know you got it here in LA. We got it in Vermont. People are addicted to alcohol. They're addicted to drugs. They're addicted to cigarettes, sometimes even to food. Addiction is a serious problem.

But I'll tell you what these billionaires are addicted to. They are addicted to greed. They are billions and billions of dollars. But that's not enough. They want to elect people who will cut Social Security and give them even more tax breaks. They want to crush workers who are trying to form unions and fight for decent wages.

So tonight, we say to the billionaire class, we are sick and tired of your greed. This country belongs to all of us, not just a few.

[CHEERING]

Now, you know, some of these Republicans run around the country, and they're talking about inflation. And it's all Joe Biden's fault or Bernie Sanders at fault. So let me tell you about inflation. Hard to imagine why Joe Biden is responsible for inflation being 10% in the UK.

Hard to understand how Bernie Sanders is responsible for 11% inflation in Europe, or any of us are responsible for the inflation that is taking place all over the world. Inflation has been caused by the pandemic and the breakdown of supply chains. It has been caused by the horrific, horrific war and destructive war in the Ukraine.

But I want to tell you the major reason that we are seeing 8% inflation in America. And 54% of the cost of inflation is a direct result of corporations jacking up profits so that they are making record-breaking profits today.

[CHEERING]

All right, you want to know why gas, $6 or $7 a gallon here in LA? Well, you should know that in the second quarter of this year the five largest oil companies made $59 billion in profit in one quarter. Want to know why people can't afford to fill up their gas tanks? ExxonMobil's profits in the second quarter are up 280%. Chevron's profits are up 277%. Conoco Phillips, up 146%.

The major food companies are enjoying record-breaking profits at a time when the elderly and working families are having a hard time purchasing food at the grocery store. While the cost of prescription drugs has gone off the charts, and in some cases, we pay 10 times more than the people of other countries, the three major pharmaceutical companies-- Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Abdi, increased their profits by 90% last year.

So I want you to think for a moment about the moral implications of this. You've got a horrible war in Ukraine. People are dying. It's resulting in inflation. You got this pandemic, which took over a million lives in this country. tens of thousands of working people went to work to keep the economy going, to do their jobs, and they died. They died going to work.

You got these greedy bastards on top--

[CHEERING]

--are taking advantage of all of us instead of saying, my God, look at what's going on in the world. What can we do to make life more affordable for working people? They are using this moment in order to make record-breaking profits by driving prices. Up and that is why together, we are going to have a windfall profit tax on these people.

[CHEERING]

Let me tell you, it's a little bit more about my Republican colleagues, some of the things they won't tell you. Oh, they are very concerned about the national debt. Oh, my god, they stay up nights worrying about it. And that is why they want to repeal the estate tax, which is a tax that only applies to the top 1/10 of 1%.

And if that estate tax was repealed-- and they want to do that-- it would mean the national debt would go up by $1.75 trillion. Oh, and these are the people staying up nights worrying about the national debt.

But they have a partial solution to their problem. You see? They think it's OK to give Elon Musk's family a tax break of over $200 billion by repealing the estate tax. But in order to pay for it, they are prepared to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

So at a time when the rich are becoming much richer, they want to give them almost $2 trillion in tax breaks. At a time when many elderly people are struggling to pay for their prescription drugs or heat their homes, they want to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Those are priorities that we will never allow to take place.

[CHEERING]

This campaign here in LA and all over the country, is not only about opposing right-wing extremism, which it is. It's not only taking on the billionaire class and all of their wealth and power, which it is. This campaign must be about something else. It must be our fight for a vision that creates a nation and a government that works for all and not just the few.

[CHEERING]

And what does Karen-- what do Karen and I and all of you understand what has to be done. It is not complicated. First thought, in America, if you work 40 hours a week, you should not live in poverty. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage.

In America, workers have the constitutional right to form unions.

[CHEERING]

We all know that in order to rebuild the middle class in America, we have got to rebuild the Trade Union Movement. And I want to congratulate all of those people all over this country who are standing up and fighting for unions right now.

They're doing it at Starbucks. They're doing it at Amazon. They're doing it all across the country.

[CHEERING]

And what Karen and I and you understand as we rebuild America, that this country must join every other major nation on earth in guaranteeing health care to all as a human right [INAUDIBLE].

[CHEERING]

No honest person can defend the dysfunctional health care system that exists right now. You may not know this. But we are now spending twice as much per person on health care as do the people of any other country, $12,000 per person. And yet, despite spending so much money, we got 85 million Americans who are uninsured or underinsured.

So tonight, I tell the insurance industry, the function of a rational health care system is not to make tens of billions in profits for the insurance industry. It's to guarantee health care to all of our people.

[CHEERING]

But what Karen and I and you understand is that in a competitive global economy, we have got to make sure that we have the best educational system on earth. It is a disgrace. In my state-- I don't think it's much different in California-- in my state, it costs the working person $15,000 a year to find a childcare slot for his or her kid, $15,000 bucks a year.

We have hundreds of thousands of bright young people today who want to go to college, but can't afford to do that. And we got 45 million people who are struggling with student debt. What Karen believes, and what I believe that if we're going to have the best educated workforce in the world, we need radical change to our child care system. We ought to pay the workers there a living wage. And we've got to make it affordable for every parent in America.

[CHEERING]

And we've got to make sure-- we've got to make sure that every kid in this country, whether you come from a working class, low-income family, no matter where you come from, yes, you're going to be able to get a higher education because we're going to make public colleges and universities tuition-free.

[CHEERING]

And Karen has been a leader in understanding that we can create millions of good-paying jobs by taking on the greed of the fossil fuel industry and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel energy, efficiency, and sustainability.

[CHEERING]

So I'm here tonight obviously, to ask you to elect Karen as mayor. But I'm asking you tonight to do even more than that. This is a monumental moment, a pivotal moment in American history. And we're up against very powerful people who are funded by billionaires. They have endless amounts of money, and they'll use that money any way they can in order to gain power.

And one of the things that they try to do is to divide our people up based on the color of their skin, based on where they were born, based on their sexual orientation, or their religion or whatever it may be. Now, I was not a great math student. But at the end of the day, I do know that 99% is a bigger number than 1%.

[CHEERING]

And I do know that if we stand together against the greed and power of the billionaire class, there is no limit to what we can accomplish. And I want you all to continue to have that vision. Yes, all Americans can have health care and walk into the doctor's office without taking out their wallet.

Yes, we can have affordable prescription drugs. Yes, all of our people, no matter what their background or age can get all of the education that they desire. Yes, the United States can lead the world in transforming our energy system and saving the planet.

So tonight, I am asking you in the next 12 days to work as hard as you can to elect Karen and other progressives. But I'm asking you to come back the day after the election and continue to struggle to make sure that in America, we have the economic justice we deserve, the social justice we deserve, the racial justice we deserve, the environmental justice we deserve.

[CHEERING]

Real change-- real change never comes from the top on down, and it doesn't come from 30-second TV ads. Real change comes when millions of people stand up and say, enough is enough. We are prepared to fight and create the nation that we deserve. Thank you all so much.

- (SINGING) I feel the fever. I feel the fever. I feel the fever. I feel the fever. I feel the fever. [INAUDIBLE] Singing about a revolution. We've got to [INAUDIBLE] right away. [INAUDIBLE] I feel the fever.