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Bernie Sanders: “I have been talking about how our nation is moving toward an…”

Featuring: Bernie Sanders, Independent | U.S. Senate, Vermont

Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET).

Published March 9, 2025 | Video Starts at 23:04

You know, the Trump administration is a government of the billionaire class, by the. Billionaire class and for the billionaire class. You know, for a number of years. I have been talking about how our nation is moving toward an oligarchic form of society. My friends, we are no longer moving toward oligarchy. We are living in oligarchy. And as we assemble here today, we are going to make it very clear. (23:04–23:13)

CLAIM

Asserts that the U.S. is moving toward oligarchy.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Bernie Sanders

“The American people do not want a handful of billionaires to be running our government.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 17:56-18:04
“The American people want a president and an administration that respects the Constitution.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 18:19-18:28
“In Vermont, we have town meetings all over the state. Small towns have meetings, and they argue about how much they want to put into the…”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 18:50-19:03
“As [Trump] was taking the oath of office, were the three wealthiest men in the country, Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos, and Mr. Zuckerberg.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 21:45-22:19
“Billionaires who were nominated by Trump to head up Major government agencies.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 22:27-22:35
“The three richest guys in the country... own more wealth than the bottom half of American society.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 22:27-22:59
“We are no longer moving toward oligarchy. We are living in oligarchy.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 23:13-23:21
“They are prepared to dismember the federal government and cut programs that low income and working class people desperately need.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 25:21-25:36
“Billion cut to Medicaid mean? It means that millions of kids right now who are on Medicaid will be thrown off of their health insurance.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 28:08-28:19
“40% of the funding for community health centers comes from Medicaid. You cut Medicaid significantly harder for people to get primary health…”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 29:25-29:37
“It is also Social Security.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 29:42-29:46
“Musk and his cohorts plan to fire over half the workers at the Social Security Administration.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 30:02-30:11
“Social Security Administration is significantly understaffed.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 30:17-30:23
“30,000 Americans die every year waiting for an understaffed Social Security to approve disability benefits.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 30:34-30:50
“If these cuts go through, the number of people who die will go up very significantly.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 31:00-31:07
“They're going after the Veterans Administration.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 31:28-31:32
“There was a proposal out there that they want to fire or they have a planned reduction of 83,3000 employees at the Veterans Administration.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 32:28-32:44
“The Veterans of Foreign wars, that is the second largest veterans organization in the country. They said yesterday, and I quote, we now call…”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 33:33-33:50
“Working class class communities would see their schools lose funding.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 34:20-34:27
“Trump's budget would cut nutrition assistance.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 34:56-35:00
“They are trying to dismember the federal government, and they lie a lot about what government does and does not do.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 36:04-36:13
“Hundreds of thousands of federal employees may lose their jobs.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 36:13-36:18
“Trump spoke for 100 minutes. I think it was the longest State of the Union ever.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 38:36-38:42
“Trump claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that he won by a landslide. That's a lie.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 39:38-39:50
“He has claimed that millions of undocumented people vote in American elections.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 39:38-39:46
“Trump claimed that the January 6th insurrection was a day of love.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 40:15-40:20
“Injured over 100 police officers on Capitol Hill.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 40:29-40:34
“I was chairman of a committee called the Health Education Labor Committee.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 41:16-41:19
“We work really hard on some public health programs which would have expanded funding for community health centers, would have lowered the…”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 41:19-41:30
“It was a 3.4% increase. And as a result of what [Elon] Musk did, that important legislation was defeated.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 42:01-42:13
“Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 45:56-46:01
“Today in America, we live as a nation, shorter lives than people in other wealthy countries. Our life expectancy is low.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 48:26-48:36
“We live about four years shorter lives than people in Europe or Japan, et cetera.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 48:37-48:45
“Seven years shorter lives than the people on top.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 49:16-49:21
“85 million are uninsured or underinsured.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 51:47-51:51
“60,000 people die every year because they don't get to a doctor when they should.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 51:51-51:56
“We pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 52:13-52:16
“One out of four Americans can't afford the prescriptions their doctors prescribe.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 52:27-52:32
“50% of their limited incomes on housing.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 52:51-52:55
“We have a president who is siding, allying himself with a ruthless dictator in Russia.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 54:46-54:55
“I have very strongly opposed the US Giving military aid to the Netanyahu government in Israel.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 55:08-55:17
“I'm going to do whatever I can with other members of the Senate to stop more arms sales going to Israel.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 55:44-55:52
“The American people want fundamental changes in the way government does business.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 57:10-57:17
“Democrats, Republicans, Independents, number one.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 57:38-57:43
“Is appropriate for somebody like Musk to contribute $270 million to Trump's campaign?”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 58:04-58:07
“Is Democratic billionaires as well.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 58:23-58:27
“Industry and the drug companies.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 1:02:11-1:02:14
“We're living in a competitive global economy. We need the best educated workforce in the world.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 1:03:22-1:03:29
“The oligarchs are enormously powerful. They control our economy. They control much of the media.”
Fighting Oligarchy with Bernie Sanders in Altoona (Broadcast at 630PM ET). | Uploaded March 9, 2025 | 1:08:50-1:09:00