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Soon Bernie Sanders to Hold 1st Home State Rally Amid Sliding Poll Numbers; Polls: Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris on the Rise; Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren Court Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Support; Bernie Sanders Holds Rally in Montpelier, Vermont. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 25, 2019 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


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[15:00:00] ALEX TREBEK, "JEOPARDY" HOST: That takes you up to $75,400. And $265.035 million.

(APPLAUSE)

TREBEK: Enjoy the weekend. Come back on Monday.

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TREBEK: He'll be here to defend again.

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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: That's his 27th win in a row. Holzhauer is now the second person in "Jeopardy's" history to hit the $2 million mark. Congratulations.

Thank you for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge.

The NEWSROOM continues with Ana Cabrera right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks so much for joining us on this holiday weekend. I'm Ana Cabrera, in New York.

You're looking at live pictures now from Montpelier, Vermont, where Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, is holding a major rally in his home state as he tries to regain momentum in the 2020 race.

For much of the campaign, he has had a solid hold on second place, behind Joe Biden, but new polls show he is in danger of slipping into third, maybe even fourth place.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is there, joining us live.

Ryan, Sanders on his home turf, where he should have some of the highest levels of support. What's his message today?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is interesting, Ana, is he is going to talk a lot about how his formative years in politics here in Vermont have led him to this point in his little career where he believes he is ready to become the next president of the United States.

One of the things we learned that Bernie Sanders is going to talk about quite extensively here today is his record on foreign policy, which may seem a little head scratching considering the fact that he was the mayor of Burlington, and he will talk about being the mayor of Burlington, and what does that have to do about foreign policy.

Well, much has been written the past few months about how Sanders was a very vocal appoint of the Reagan administration and their foreign policy during that time and he was also opposed to the Vietnam War, a conscientious objector at that time.

And this is one of the things he will say in the speech. He will say, quote, "As a young man, along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others, I marched against the war in Vietnam. As a member of the House, I helped lead the opposition of the war in Iraq.

And finally, now I am doing everything I can to prevent Donald Trump and John Bolton from taking us into a war with Iran, a war that could be much worse than a war in Iraq and could lead to literally to perpetual warfare in the region, a never-ending war that U.S. troops will remain involved in. And I make no apologies for that either."

So, Ana, this is an attempt for Bernie Sanders to separate himself from the rest of this crowded field of Democrats. Make the statement that he is being very forceful in his opposition to the current action of the Trump administration, and then circle it back, to his record as a politician here in Vermont.

Consistency is a big key for Bernie Sanders. He wants to show Democratic primary voters that where he stands on all of these big issues is where he has always stood. And that's where it is going to be, if elected president -- Ana?

CABRERA: Ryan Nobles, we know you will be listening in and seeing the reception on the ground. We will check back with you after the Senator speaks.

I want to bring in "Washington Post" national reporter, Wesley Lowery, and national political correspondent for "Time," Molly Ball, and senior White House correspondent for "Bloomberg News," Margaret Talev.

We understand Bernie Sanders is supposed to be the next speaker, guys, so if I have to interrupt, that's why.

But let me start with you, Margaret.

Because as Ryan pointed out, we expect him to highlight his foreign policy and the deescalating tensions with Iran as he makes today's speech. He did vote against the Iraq war. He marched against Vietnam, the Vietnam War.

Is foreign policy a smart place for him to hang his hat, especially as President Trump is ratcheting up his rhetoric?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Ana, in the Democratic primary, it may very well be. And there really is one person in the very crowded field that Senator Sanders is going to want to distinguish himself from on foreign policy and, of course, that's former Vice President Joe Biden, who is the front-runner in all of the major national polls. And is Sanders' peer in terms of age and experience.

But has taken a different track in terms of foreign policy, a much more mainstream track, and one that has been supportive, or at least supportive and often willing to work with any kind of the mainstream, when it has come to foreign conflict and wars overseas.

So it will be interesting to see whether Sanders makes the contrast direct or whether it is extremely implied. But either way, he is just not differentiating himself from President Trump and folks like John Bolton on Trump's foreign policy team, national security team. He's also at least implicitly and maybe explicitly drawing a contrast between himself and Joe Biden.

CABRERA: I wonder, Wes, whether that is the smartest move. Because how much do voters care at this point about foreign policy. When you look at some of the earlier polls, when you ask them what their top priority is, foreign policy is not on the top of the list.

WESLEY LOWERY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, even if foreign policy doesn't rank at the very top of the list, and a very crowded list right now for Democratic voters, one of the things that is key for Bernie Sanders is to prove to Democratic voters that he is not a one-issue candidate, that he is not a protest vote, he is not somebody you vote for if you don't like Hillary Clinton, but rather, is someone who has the depth and the breadth of experience and knowledge to run the nation, right?

[15:05:16] And I think, as Bernie Sanders, someone who has been seen as a warrior on domestic policies, someone who has been seen and caricatured around his fights around Wall Street, and the millionaires, and the billionaires, one of his pitches to Democratic voters is I am a complete candidate, I am not just a protester vote for you but I'm someone who can be president.

And I think that's one of the reasons he will lean into foreign policy, even if it doesn't rank the highest on the list that Democratic voters are looking for. It is important for people who are considering Bernie Sanders to see that he is a full and complete potential commander-in-chief.

CABRERA: Molly, Sanders support has been dropping for a few months. It was 25 percent in March and 20 percent in April and 15 percent in the latest Monmouth poll. What do you think is behind this?

MOLLY BALL, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The early polls tell you which way the Democratic primary electorate is drifting. I think very few people are locked in at this point. But when Democrats came out it a strong start there and I think surprised a lot of people who thought maybe his 2016 run was a bit of a fluke, or that maybe he only got there because he was running against Hillary, he came out of the gate. And I think showed that a lot of people were still willing to support him.

And the fact that some of these people have been drifting away, is probably worrisome for him and his campaign.

Because if he is not holding together that Sanders movement, the people who were inspired by him, the first time around, and all of those people who give him the small dollar donations, he really needs to keep that segment together and build on it if he is going to get somewhere. Particularly, if he is going to get into first place, and not just come in second again.

CABRERA: Wesley, what is interesting is that polls show favorability for Senators Warren and Harris, are increasing as Sanders is losing some favorability. If you look at Warren's favorability, that was done up 14 points in the last month. Harris is up nine points. Why do you think that is?

LOWERY: Well, a big part of this is just we're still so early into this race, that some of these candidates, people who are known entities, to folks like us, who spend our time talking about politics all the time, people like Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris, who aren't as well known to the entirety of the Democratic electorate, who are getting more headlines and rolling out more policy platforms and so voters are getting to know them.

And that will necessarily drive up some of the favorability or in some cases un-favorabilities as opposed to other folks in the case, Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, who are broadly known by the entirety of the electorate, right? Every Democratic voter knows Bernie Sanders. In many cases their minds are made up about him.

While for many Democratic voters, they might know the name Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris but the first time engaging and interacting with these candidates. So I would expect us to see more movement, not just around these candidates but some of the additional candidates as well.

CABRERA: We've seen Klobuchar's numbers go up as well. That's another example.

Margaret, when people were first introduced to Sanders back in 2015, in that last presidential election cycle, he railed against the millionaires and the billionaires. Well, it turns out, now he is one of them. Do you think that has something to do with it?

TALEV: Well, it has been a bit of a messaging challenge there for him. And of course, to the extent that the Republicans think that Trump, whatever, has to stand against Bernie Sanders in the general election, they have fun casting that message.

But we will continue to see him do things like challenge Walmart in a very public setting and try to be a champion for the working class and that sort of thing.

When it comes to this primary, I would say two things. One is that Elizabeth Warren was not in that field four years ago. At least not as Bernie Sanders' rival candidate. So to some extent, he is really competing with her, in terms of that message. Protecting the working class. Against corporate America message.

The other is, even though we're looking at national polls, and we will have a lot of conversations about where the numbers are nationally, as we all know, what matters happens in the Electoral College, ultimately. And for the primary field, what matters happens in individual states.

New England is going to be obviously an essential crucial part of Bernie Sanders campaign. So when he is in his home state of Vermont, it is not just Vermonters who are watching him. It is an outreach to all of New England, which would be very important, you know, very early in the primary process.

CABRERA: But why hold this rally in Vermont, a place where he already has all of the support he needs?

TALEV: But everyone has these homecomings, right? You saw Joe Biden kick it off in Pennsylvania, which is -- you know, he spent so much of his early years there in Pennsylvania.

And you know, I think everyone, most candidates derive a great amount of strength from kind of going back to their roots and looking for the messaging there, that can send a message nationally, but where they can surround themselves with what is their home and the beginning of their political legacy.

[15:10:14] CABRERA: Molly, let me circle back to something you touched on earlier, which is fundraising. And back in 2016, Sanders made a big deal that his average donation was $27, but this campaign, he is sort of changing his fundraising strategy. He's announced an in-person event on June 1. A friend-maker fundraiser. What does this tell you?

BALL: I think it is still basically the same in terms of it is primarily a grass roots fundraising strategy. You don't see him suddenly changing his tune on lobbyists and PACs and going off and hobnobbing like the oil industry or something. So it is a little bit of a change. I don't think it is a very material one.

But you know, as Margaret was talking about, having this rally in Vermont, I think the symbolism here is very interesting, because when you think about his big Vermont kickoff four years ago, he did it in Burlington, and he was on the water and you had that crowd of thousands and thousands of people, and it almost felt like some kind of outdoor concert. And it really created the visual of a movement and of a people-powered grass roots campaign.

Having this at the statehouse in Montpelier is a little bit different, right? It feels a little bit more official. It feels a little bit, shall we say, presidential. And so you see the symbolism being tweaked a little bit as he tries to impress voters as someone who could potentially be commander-in-chief.

CABRERA: What do you make of him and Elizabeth Warren seemingly courting AOC and maybe working toward her endorsement?

BALL: Obviously, a smart thing to do. She is very popular. She has electrified a lot of people and turned a lot of young voters, in particular, onto the same issues, same message that both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been trying to articulate. If she does decide she'll back one or the other, that could potentially be very powerful.

CABRERA: Although, I have to wonder if it is powerful for the primary race, and if it could end up being a problem in the general election.

Wesley, what do you think?

LOWERY: Well, I think that a sitting member of the Democratic House is going to probably support no matter who the Democratic candidate is against Donald Trump. And so there's -- you know, it is unclear to me if there would be much distinction between a Democratic candidate who had received, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's support in the primary versus one who will undoubtedly receive her support in the general election.

That said, I think the reason why any candidate might want her support, or the support of other young new vibrant Democratic candidates is that so much of this race is about trying to position themselves as the future of the Democratic Party. What is this party moving forward?

And I think that by courting and potentially attaching themselves to so many of these new young leaders, people who many of the Democratic voters see as the future in this party, is a way for folks, like Elizabeth Warren, like Bernie Sanders, who themselves have been in politics for decades, right?

Who are Washington fixtures, to assert and to insist to voters that they, in fact, are new and they are vibrant and their ideas are new and they are vibrant, and they align with where this party is going, as the party continues to change demographically, as it continues to bring more young people into leadership roles.

And again, that is one of the key questions about, where does this party go in a post-Barack Obama world, in a world where the leadership starts to change over, no matter who the next president is.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Although, Joe Biden has been really leaning into his attachment to the Obama administration.

LOWERY: Certainly.

CABRERA: And he is not necessarily trying to say, I'm different than what you're used to. It is almost, at least my interpretation from his messaging, is, I am somebody who is safe, you can trust, you know me already, not that he's some kind of, you know, big ground-breaker. What do you think is working for him, in that regard, Margaret?

TALEV: Well, I mean that is -- you're right, you're exactly right. Joe Biden's message is completely different than Bernie Sanders' message in terms of the pitch to voters for why they should choose him.

And I think for the candidates like Joe Biden, or I don't know, Pete Buttigieg, if you're more of a centrist approach, or if you're going to rely more on your experience governing across party lines or whatever, you have a different calculus when you're trying to figure out how closely to align with Alexander Ocasio-Cortez or some of the newer House members, further to the left House members, it is really a different calculus.

If you're Bernie Sanders, you're already not going to get some of those cross-over voters that are looking for a very moderate candidate, or you're not likely to get them unless they're voting currently in the sort of against-Trump category.

[15:15:00] If you're a more centrist Democratic candidate, you are asking yourself, yes, I would like this person's support but do I want to align with them on the Green New Deal or, you know, policies X, Y, Z.

For Bernie Sanders, part of that alignment is a natural one. He is courting her support because they are allies and partners in many ways already on the Hill.

CABRERA: All right, Margaret, Wes, Molly, all of you, thank you.

And please stick around as we await Senator Sanders big rally, his speech today in Vermont.

Meantime, President Trump is overseas. He is in Japan, for a mostly ceremonial state visit we are told. Complete with ringside seats to a sumo match. But there's vital trade and national security issues on his agenda, too. We go live to Tokyo, next.

And here is Bernie Sanders. He is now approaching the podium for his big rally in Vermont. Let's just watch and listen in.

(APPLAUSE)

(SINGING)

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Hello.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Thank you, Montpelier!

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Let me begin by thanking Chris Kahans (ph).

Let me thank Blaine Kennedy Fitzgerald, the young lady from Colchester. What a beautiful voice.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Let me thank Grammy-Award winner, Brandy Carlyle (ph).

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Let me thank Jenny Nelson, who has one of the most beautiful farms in the state.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Let me thank Hope Patrero (ph), the part of the young generation that is going to transform this country.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Let me thank Congressman Peter Welch. Peter and I have worked for so many years on so many issues.

Thanks for your work, Peter.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And let me thank longtime friend, Ben Cohen.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: You know, in 1928, Herbert Hoover ran for president on a message that said a chicken in every pot. Well, maybe we run in 2020 on a message that says Cherry Garcia in every freezer.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Thank you, Ben, for all you've done for the state and country.

And let me thank Shawn King (ph) and his family.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: I think many of you don't know that Shawn (ph) is one of the real leaders in addressing a major, major crisis in this country, and that is the need to reform a racist and broken criminal justice system.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Today, I want to thank all of you for being here this afternoon. Looks like we're getting a little sun.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And let me mostly thank the people of the state of Vermont who have given me an opportunity that, when I was a kid, I never would have dreamed of in a million years. And that is to be the mayor of Burlington, to be a United States congressman from Vermont, and now, your United States Senator. It has been the honor of my life. And I thank you all.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And here standing in front of our beautiful statehouse, we can reflect a bit upon the history of our small but proud state. We were the first state in the country to outlaw slavery.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And Vermont was a major part of the Underground Railroad.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We were the first state in the country to mandate public funding for universal education.

(CHEERING)

[15:20:05] SANDERS: More recently, we were the first state whose legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We are proud that Vermont is a state which, over the years, has held its head high, in the struggle for human freedom and justice, and is a state that I know will continue to do so.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: In recent years, working together, we have accomplished much for our state. Starting in Burlington in the 1980s, as Shawn (ph) just mentioned, we were the first municipality in the country to fund a community land trust that not only gave working people the ability to own their own homes, but to make sure that those homes would be perpetually affordable.

And that idea has spread not only all over this country, but, in fact, all over the world.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And as the nation tackles the crisis in health care, we are proud that Vermont is helping to lead the nation in expanding federally qualified community health centers.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: In Vermont, further, we have expanded and improved veterans' health care at the V.A. in White River Junction -- (CHEERING)

SANDERS: -- and in towns throughout the state.

As the former chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, I have always believed that the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our country deserve the best quality health care this nation can provide.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: In Vermont, we have been a national leader in energy efficiency, and the movement to sustain sustainable energy. (CHEERING)

SANDERS: Unlike some, we know that climate change is real.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: In Vermont, especially relevant in this particular moment in American history, given what is happening in Alabama, in Georgia, and all over this country, in Vermont we understand that women have a constitutional right to control their own bodies.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: It is not politicians in the U.S. Congress, or the state governments, or the local government, that will control a woman's body. It is the women of this country themselves.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Now, as we assemble today, here in front of our beautiful state capitol, in this pivotal and unprecedented moment in American history, I am here today to ask for your support to help me win the Democratic nomination.

(CHEERING)

(CHANTING)

SANDERS: I am asking for your support to help me defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And today, I am asking your help to help me lead this country in transforming this nation, so that, together, we create an economy and a government that works for all of us, and not just the privileged few.

(CHEERING)

[15:25:18] SANDERS: And today, I want to welcome you to a campaign which says, with confidence, optimism and love, that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred, and lies. (CHEERING)

SANDERS: The underlying principles of our government will not be racism, will not be sexism, will not be xenophobia --

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: -- and will not be religious bigotry --

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: -- and all of the other mean-spirited un-American beliefs of the Trump administration.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: The principles of our government will be based on justice, economic justice --

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: -- economic justice, racial justice, social justice, and environmental justice. (CHEERING)

SANDERS: Our campaign and our government is about bringing our people together, not dividing them.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Today, I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about Donald Trump, one of my least favorite subjects, because you already know more about him than you ever wanted to know.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: You know that, sadly, we have a president who is a pathological liar, and that he says whatever he wants, without regard to the truth.

You know that we have a president who has no understanding or respect for the Constitution of the United States, and the separation of powers, and is attempting to move every single day this country into an authoritarian form of government.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: Think for a moment. Who would have ever believed that we could have a president of the United States who considers the media in this country as an enemy of the people --

(BOOING)

SANDERS: -- who lavishes praise on despotic and anti-Democratic leaders all over the world, who storms out of meetings after berating and insulting congressional leaders, and who refuses to obey congressional subpoenas? (BOOING)

SANDERS: But that's not all. During his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump told the American people that he was going to defend the interests of the working class of this country. He lied.

Instead of protecting the interests of working people, he attempted to throw 32 million Americans off of the health care they currently have.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: He attempted to do away with the protections that all Americans have for pre-existing health conditions.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: That is not defending the interests of the working class. That is betraying the working class of this country.

(CHEERING)

[15:30:00]

SANDERS: During his campaign for president, Trump promised not to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. He lied.

His budget calls for a trillion and a half dollar cut to Medicaid over 10 years, $845 billion to Medicare, and billions more in cuts for Social Security.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: Now, some of you may remember that when Trump ran for president, he said, you know what, we are going to have a tax plan that will not benefit wealthy people. Remember that? He lied again.

And 83 percent of his benefits in that tax plan go to the top 1 percent at the end of 10 years.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: During his campaign for president, Trump said that he would drain the swamp. He lied.

That swamp is murkier now than it has ever been. And his administration is the most corrupt in the modern history of the country.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Further and, dangerously, Trump is endangering the future of our country, and the entire planet, by refusing to acknowledge the reality of climate change. And is in fact, making a horrific situation even worse, by encouraging the production of more fossil fuels.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Hard to believe. The scientists tell us that we have only 12 years, not a very long time, before we see irreparable, irreparable harm done to this planet. And we have a president who ignores that stunning reality.

But our campaign is not about Donald Trump. It is about something far more important. It is about laying out a new vision for our country, a vision that speaks to the needs of ordinary Americans, people from coast to coast, who for too long have been ignored.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: It is a vision which is going to bring our people together, black and white, and Latino, Native American and Asian American, whether they are men, or women, young or old, gay or straight, native- born or immigrant.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Ours is a vision which calls upon our best instincts, not our worst. It is a vision that understands that love conquers hate.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And that when we stand together in common purpose, there's nothing that we cannot accomplish.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Ours is a vision which states unequivocally that, in the United States of America, we believe in democracy, not authoritarianism.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: It is hard for me to believe that, in the United States of America, in the year 2019, we have to say that. But unfortunately, we do. Too many brave men and women have fought and died to defend democracy in our country and we will not allow Donald Trump or anyone else to take it away.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We want our country to have the highest voter turnout in the industrialized world, not one of the lowest.

We believe we must make it easier for people to vote, not harder.

(CHEERING)

[15:35:10] SANDERS: Which is why we are going to take on those cowardly Republican governors from coast to coast who are trying to suppress the vote.

(CHEERING) SANDERS: They are trying to make it harder for people of color, for poor people, for young people, to vote.

When we become the government of the United States, the law will be that, if you are a citizen of this country and you are 18 years of age, you have the right to vote, end of discussion.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And when we talk about democracy, I believe that elections should be decided by one person, one vote, not billionaires buying elections.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And that is why, when you all come to my inauguration --

(CHEERING)

(CHANTING)

SANDERS: All right, we need a lot of buss to get to Washington. Are you all ready to come?

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: SANDERS: And when we are in the White House, we are going to begin the process to overthrow that disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And we are going to move toward public funding of elections.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: But our job is not just to reform a corrupt political system. It is to create an economy based on justice, not uncontrollable and destructive greed.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: This is the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. But most people don't know that, because almost all of the wealth and new income is going to a small number of people at the top of the economic ladder.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: So let me be as clear as I can be. We need a government that reins in the uncontrollable greed of the billionaire class and the power of the special interests.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We don't need an economy that just makes the rich much richer. We don't need an economy in which half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, wondering how they will feed their families, pay the light bill or put gas in the car.

All the while, three families in America own more wealth than the bottom half of the American people.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: We don't need an economy in which millions of workers in Vermont and around this country are forced to work two or three jobs to put food on the table, an economy where 500,000 people will be sleeping out on the streets tonight, while 49 percent of all new income is going to the top 1 percent.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: We need an economy that allows all Americans to have a decent standard of living, and to live productive and secure lives.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We don't need an economy in which so few have so much and so many have so little.

[15:40:02] And today, we think about those moms and dads in Vermont and in California who cannot afford quality childcare. And today, we think about public schoolteachers who are taking money out of their own pockets to buy supplies for their kids in underfunded schools.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And today, we think about veterans who are sleeping out on the streets.

We are going to create an economy that works for the elderly, the children, our veterans, the sick, and the poor, not just the 1 percent.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And if you'll allow me, I want to take a few minutes, just to give you a couple of examples of what is going on in this country when I talk about greed and how we are going to change that when we get into the White House.

Example one, in America today, we have one family, the Walton family, of Walmart.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: This is a family that is worth $175 billion. They're doing well. Meanwhile, this very same family that owns Walmart pays its workers' wages that are so low that many of those employees are forced to go on government programs like Medicaid, food stamps and public housing. In other words, working families, you, here in Vermont, and throughout

this country, are paying extra taxes to subsidize the wealthiest family in this country.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: How insane is that?

(SHOUTING)

SANDERS: Next week, just next week, as a result of an invitation that I received from Walmart workers, I will be going to Arkansas to participate in the Walmart stockholders meeting.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Now, I thank the workers very much for allowing me to represent them at that meeting. I'm not quite so sure how welcoming the Walton family will be.

(LAUGHTER)

SANDERS: But let me tell you what I will tell them. And my message to the Walton family will be, pay your workers a living wage, 15 bucks an hour.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We do not want to continue providing corporate welfare for the richest family in America.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And the message to the fast-food industry, exactly the same. On Thursday, just a couple of days ago, I teleconferenced into a rally in Texas, held by McDonald's workers. And I was proud to join with them in their fight for $15 an hour, and the right for workers in the fast-food industry to join a union.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Now, this is not a complicated issue. In the richest country in the world, if you work 40 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty. And that is why, together, we will raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And by the way, when we talk about wages, we believe in equal pay for equal work.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: So that's the Walton family. Let me give you another story. And this is something I have been working on for a while. As you may know, Jeff Bezos -- anybody know who Jeff Bezos is? (BOOING)

[15:45:13] SANDERS: Mr. Bezos is the owner of Amazon. He is the wealthiest person in America, worth about $114 billion.

And for years, my office in Washington had been hearing from Amazon workers all over the country about the starvation wages they were receiving and about the unhealthy working conditions that they were forced to abide.

I am very proud that, working with those employees, we were able to get Amazon to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And working with the unions in California, we raised the minimum wage at Disneyland, also, to 15 bucks an hour.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: But the Amazon story about greed is not yet over. Last year, after making $11 billion in profits, Amazon paid zero in federal income taxes.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: That is what is a rigged economy is about. You subsidize the wealthiest family in America, because they don't pay their workers a living wage, and the wealthiest guy in America has a company that makes $11 billion and does not pay a nickel in taxes.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: And that is what we are taking on in this campaign and what we are going to take on in the White House.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: But it is not just the low wages that Walmart pays or the ability of Amazon not to pay any federal income taxes. It goes a lot deeper than that.

And let me tell you something that I think no candidate for president perhaps has ever talked about, and that is the power structure of America, who owns America, who has the economic and political power to demand that Congress work for them and not just ordinary people.

So it is not just Amazon and it is not just Walmart. It is about Wall Street, where six financial institutions have assets equivalent to 50 percent of the GDP of our country and control the flow of trillions of dollars.

Well, you know what? Today, we tell Wall Street, we're going to break up the major financial institutions in this country.

(CHEERING) (APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: If a bank is too big to fail, a bank is too big to exist.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: But it is not just Wall Street or Walmart or Amazon that are ripping off the American people. Take a hard look at the unbelievable greed and power of the pharmaceutical industry.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Listen to this. Last year, the top-10 drug companies in America made $69 billion in profit. Meanwhile, they charged you and you and everyone else in America the highest prices in the world, by far, for the medicine that they need.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: Insanely -- and it is insane -- one out of five Americans cannot afford to fill the prescriptions their doctors prescribe.

(BOOING)

[15:50:03] SANDERS: Well, I've got bad news for the drug companies.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We are going to cut the cost of prescription drugs by 50 percent, whether the drug companies like or not.

(CHEERING)

(CHANTING)

SANDERS: But it is not just Amazon, Walmart, Wall Street or the drug companies. It is the insurance industry as well.

(BOOING)

SANDERS: You ready to take on the insurance industry?

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: Last year, the insurance -- the five major insurance companies made $20 billion in profit while maintaining a dysfunctional system that cost us twice as much per capita for health care as any other country. You got that? We spent twice as much per person on health care as do the other countries that provide universal care.

And here is what a dysfunctional health care system is about. Last year, the CEO of Aetna, a Mr. Bertolini, got a $500 million bonus for engineering a merger between Aetna and CVS.

(BOOING) SANDERS: And 34 million Americans have no health care. Even more are underinsured with high deductibles and high copayments. And this system allows one man to make $500 million for a merger.

Well, we have a little different vision, just a little bit --

(LAUGHTER)

SANDERS: -- as to what a humane and rational health care system should look like. We believe that health care is a human right, not a privilege.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We believe that the function of a health care system is to provide quality health care to all people and not to make billions for the insurance companies and outrageous compensation packages for CEO.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And that is why, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars that the insurance company and the drug companies will spend against us -- I suspect they are going to make me a very famous guy on 30- second TV ads. But despite all their lying and all of their ads, yes, we will pass a Medicare-for-All, single-payer program.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

(CHANTING)

SANDERS: The time is long overdue for the United States to end the international embarrassment of being the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all. And we are going to end that embarrassment.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: But it's not just Wall Street and the drug companies and the insurance companies. And let me say a word about something that very few people talk about. And that is we need to take on the Military Industrial Complex.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And we say to the Military Industrial Complex that we will not continue to spend $700 billion a year on the military.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: We want and need a strong defense. But we do not have to spend more than the next 10 nations combined.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

[15:55:00] SANDERS: We are going to invest in education. We are going to invest in affordable housing. We are going to invest in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. But we are not going to invest in never-ending wars.

(CHEERING)

(CHANTING)

SANDERS: And while we are on military policy, let me say a word about foreign policy, because they are obviously interrelated. Now, recently I have been attacked in the media because of my views, actions and votes on foreign policy issues.

So let me be as clear as I can be. Yes, as a young man, along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and others, I marched against the war in Vietnam.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: A war which ravaged my generation, which left 59,000 brave young Americans dead, as well as killing over a million Vietnamese people. I make no apologies for having opposed that war.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: As a member of the House of Representatives, I helped lead the opposition to the war in Iraq.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: I did not believe Dick Cheney or John Bolton or President Bush and others when they told us that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that we had to invade that country.

The war in Iraq turned out to be the worst foreign policy blunder in the modern history of our country and has led to the destabilization of that entire region, with more war, more death, and more suffering. I make no apology for leading the effort against the war in Iraq.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: As a member of the Senate recently, I am proud to have been the lead sponsor on a resolution that, for the first time in 45 years, utilized the War Powers Act to get a majority vote in the House and the Senate to get the United States out of the horrific Saudi-led intervention in Yemen.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: A war that is unauthorized and a war that is unconstitutional. Frankly, if we do not end that war soon, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, according to the U.N., will die this year in Yemen. And millions more will face starvation in years to come. I make no apologies to anyone for trying to end that horrible war.

(CHEERING)

SANDERS: And finally, right now, this minute, I am doing everything that I can, working, by the way, with some honest conservatives in the Senate, to prevent Donald Trump and John Bolton from taking us into a war in Iran.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: A war which would be, in my view, much more destructive, if you can believe it, than the war in Iraq, and could lead us, literally, to perpetual warfare in that region, that not only this generation of members of the armed forces would be there, but their kids and their kids. So I make no apologies for trying to do everything that I can to make sure this country does not get into another war in the Middle East.

(CHEERING)

[16:00:00]