Surprise Bernie Sanders set steals show at Coachella
For all the octogenarian politicians youngsters claim are “bestie” or “GOAT,” few have a handle on their audience like Bernie Sanders. Sure, the man-o-sphere might have a lock on Holocaust deniers and meme coin grifters, but Coachella has the only politician in America people don’t despise. To that end, In a surprise appearance, Sanders crossed the Rubicon last night and introduced singer-songwriter Clairo at Coachella’s second night.
“This country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent on your generation. Now, you can turn away and ignore what’s going on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril,” Sanders told the Coachella crowd. “We need you to stand up to fight for justice. To fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice.”
After eliciting a chorus of boos at the mere mention of President Trump’s name, Sanders said, “I agree. He thinks climate change is a hoax. He is dangerously wrong. You and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry to stop destroying this planet.”
Sanders played the hits, but all were well received because Sanders’ hits are evergreen, unfortunately. “All over this country, politicians are trying to take away a woman’s right to control her own body. We need you to stand up to fight for women’s rights. We have an economy today that is working very well for the billionaire class but not working families. We need you to help us to make an economy that works well for everybody, not just the 1%. We have a healthcare system that is broken. We are the only major country not to guarantee health care to all people. We need you to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies and understand that healthcare is a human right.”
Clairo invited Sanders to introduce her, and the Vermont Senator was happy to extol her virtues. “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights and to try to end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza where thousands of women and children are being killed. So I want to thank Clairo not only for being in a great band but for the great work she is doing.”
The 83-year-old Sanders had a packed Saturday. Earlier in the day, he and representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted 35,000 people in downtown Los Angeles for their “Fighting Oligarchy.” Neil Young, Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers, and more performed, with Young, Baez, and Rogers doing a particularly killer version of “Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World.”