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Bernie Sanders Kicks Off 2020 Run in Brooklyn

By Sumana Ali

Sanders’ campaign is off to a fierce start with diverse supporters and a strong grassroots movement focused on reform. Despite the heavy snow, roughly 13,000 supporters joined him on a cold Saturday morning.

“The struggle is about taking on the incredibly powerful institutions that control the economic and political life of our nation,” Sanders said. The crowd cheered when he called for combating climate change, reforming the criminal justice system, taxing the 1 percent and lowering the price of prescription medications.

In classic Bernie Sanders style, he named names and called out President Trump on his policies as the crowd roared with enthusiasm. The campaign’s platform includes everything from affordable education to foreign policy. Sanders emphasized forming a united front throughout his speech, “If we stand together, the future of this country is extraordinary and there is nothing we will not be able to accomplish,” he said.

Sanders’ wife, Jane, spoke about the values of her husband’s campaign. The rally included impassioned statements from Shaun King, former Ohio Senator Nina Turner, and community advocates and leaders. Speakers talked about the Brooklyn-born candidate and his humble beginnings.

Shaun King said it was not just Saunders political views and policy ideas that make him a strong candidate. “It’s his journey to this moment that makes me trust in this man,” said King.

As usual, Sanders attracted a huge youthful crowd of supporters. Gabriel Reyes, a 19-year-old college student, said he was attendeding a campaign rally for the first time. He said he traveled from the Bronx to Brooklyn in the cold because he believes in Sanders’ message. Reyes believes that Bernie has so many young supporters because of his views on universal health care, comprehensive immigration reform, climate change, criminal justice reform and taxation of the wealthy. “Everyone was super nice, and I felt energized like, there is hope,” he said.

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