Sanders, AOC use ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour to rally disaffected Democrats

• Progressive stalwarts Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently brought their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to the West. While the rallies are largely about standing up to President Trump, the two have also called out the Democratic Party and its diminishing ability to identify with the working class.
• The Democratic Party is currently seeing some of its lowest approval ratings from its own registered voters, who also want their party to stop capitulating to the Trump administration.
• According to an NBC News poll released March 16, roughly 27% of registered Democrats have a favorable view of the party, marking the lowest positive rating in an NBC News poll dating back to 1990.

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It’s been three months since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, and the Democratic Party still hasn’t found an identity or a unified attack line capable of mobilizing its roughly 45.1 million registered voters. However, two stalwarts of the progressive wing have assumed that responsibility and embarked on a tour to spread the message that Trump’s government is run by and for the billionaire class –– a message the Democrat establishment has failed to capitalize on.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are currently on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, attempting to wrest the Democratic Party from the brink of staggering unpopularity and widespread disillusionment.

The events, which are taking place in districts that Republicans narrowly won in 2024, amplify Sanders’ message that the Trump administration is an oligarchy.

During a tour stop in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, March 22,  Sanders echoed statements he made on the floor of the Senate in February.

“What I saw in front of me [at Trump’s inauguration], right behind Donald Trump, were the three wealthiest people in America –– Mr. [Elon] Musk, Mr. [Jeff] Bezos and Mr. [Mark] Zuckerberg,” Sanders told a crowd of some 20,000 people in Tucson. He added that behind those three were 13 other billionaires Trump had tapped to serve in his administration. This, Sanders said, is not the government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” that President Abraham Lincoln envisioned during the Civil War.

At the same time, however, Sanders is also calling out Democrats for their complicity in oligarchical rule. On Tuesday, March 18, Sanders put it more bluntly while speaking with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

“In the Democratic Party, you’ve got a party that is heavily dominated by the billionaire class, run by consultants who are way out of touch with reality,” Sanders said. “The Democratic Party has virtually no grassroots support. So, what we are trying to do is, in one way or another, maybe create a party within the party, of bringing millions of young people, working-class people, people of color, to demand that the Democratic Party start standing with the working-class of this country, and take on the very powerful corporate interests that have never had it so good.”

Sanders’ history of calling out corporate politics

It’s an accusation Sanders has long levied against both the Republicans and Democrats. Sanders is a registered independent but caucuses with the Democrats, and has twice run to be the party’s presidential nominee.

“When I talked about oligarchy over the years, I think for some people it was an abstraction,” Sanders told NPR. However, since Trump retook control of the White House, Sanders argued, “people understand you have to be blind to see that what we have today is a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires.”

The Democrats’ unprecedented unpopularity

As the Democratic Party struggles to galvanize its base –– as well as independents and disaffected Republicans –– around the needs of working-class Americans, Sanders and AOC are warning that the party is actively turning its back on its own electorate.       

While the establishment Democrat line suggests that the party is too “woke” and losing touch with average Americans, those on the progressive left say the party isn’t doing enough to stand up against corporate interests at the expense of working-class and marginalized communities.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have largely avoided culture issues, instead arguing that what America needs is a working-class revolution.

Nevertheless, no matter which camp someone argues for, one thing is clear –– the Democratic Party is in decline. According to an NBC News poll released March 16, roughly 27% of registered Democrats have a favorable view of the party, marking the lowest positive rating in an NBC News poll dating back to 1990. Similarly, 65% of Democrats want their Congressional representatives to take a harder stance against Trump’s policies and eschew bipartisanship. In that regard, Senate Democrats largely failed to deliver for their party when they voted for a GOP spending bill after initially opposing it.

“I’m really disappointed that the Democrats in some sense seem to have abandoned working-class people. And this is something I really admire about Bernie and AOC,” one rally attendee told Colorado Public Radio. “I’m not interested in this centrist, Democratic message of staying the course.”

Now, Sanders and AOC are leading the charge against their party and asking voters to elect representatives who will stand up to Trump while championing causes that enjoy wide support, such as income inequality and campaign finance reform, affordable healthcare, and housing.

“This isn’t just about Republicans. We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us, too,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a Fighting Oligarchy rally in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 20. “But what that means is that we as a community must choose and vote for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand up for the working class.”