Bernie Sanders took direct aim at Donald Trump in the opening salvo to his 2020 presidential campaign, with the Vermont senator and Democratic hopeful saying Trump is the “most dangerous president in modern American history.”
After several weeks of speculation as to whether he would run, Sanders made it official last week with a rally in his hometown of Brooklyn. In launching the campaign, Sanders returned to familiar 2016 themes such as income inequality and the environment, but also did not shy away from attacks on the president.
As Global News noted, Sanders predicted he would win the Democratic nomination and then defeat Trump, who he called “the most dangerous president in modern American history.” Sanders also made it clear that his campaign would show a sharp contrast to Trump, and that he and his supporters would show “loudly and clearly that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred, and lies. It will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and religious bigotry. That is going to end.”
As Sanders launches his attacks on Trump, he doesn’t appear to be looking to 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton for any help. Sanders said last week that he did not plan to reach out to the former Secretary of State for help with his campaign, saying that the two have “fundamental differences” about their approaches to politics.
Though Sanders lost to Clinton in 2016, he enters the 2020 race among the front-runners in a crowded Democratic field that also includes fellow Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar. Sanders has maintained the momentum of his initial run, when he attracted large audiences for campaign stops and a mostly young following that he tapped for enormous fundraising totals.
Bernie Sanders returns to N.Y. roots, says he can defeat Trump https://t.co/zrLrpJgmn8
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) March 3, 2019
After making official his 2020 presidential bid, Sanders was able to raise $6 million in a span of 24 hours, nearly all from small donations. Sanders has sworn off the support of Super PACs and vowed not to accept corporate donations, instead tapping into a very wide base of supporters giving an average of less than $30.
As Sanders has risen to the top of the Democratic field and launched attacks against Trump, he has also become a popular target for the president, The New York Times noted. Shortly after Sanders announced his huge fundraising total last week, Trump’s campaign sent a text message to supporters telling them about the $6 million that “Socialist Bernie” had raised, and telling them, “Now I’m calling on you to CRUSH that number.”
