Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday night. He delivered a brief speech urging young people to fight for the future of the country before introducing performer Clairo. The Vermont senator received some boos from the crowd when he brought up President Donald Trump.
Joining Sanders on stage was U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the youngest member of Congress, representing Florida’s 10th Congressional District.
“I wanted to thank Clairo for allowing me to get up here and to thank this guy, you may or may not know him, but Maxwell Frost, he’s a member of the United States Congress, the youngest and in my view one of the best members,” Sanders said. “I’m not going to be long but this is what I want to say. This country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation.”
“Now,” he continued, “you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up, to fight for justice. To fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice.”
Sanders then turned his attention to the political climate.
“Now we got a president of the United States,” he began, pausing as the crowd erupted in boos. “I agree. He thinks that climate change is a hoax. He is dangerously wrong and you and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet. All over this country, not in California or Vermont from where I’m from, but Florida, where Maxwell is from and other states. Politicians are trying to take away a woman’s right to control her own body. We need you to stand up and fight for women’s rights. We have an economy today that is working very well for the billionaire class but not for working families. We need you to help us to create an economy that works well for everybody, not just the one percent. We have a healthcare system that is broken. We are the only major country not to guarantee healthcare 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.”
After the surprise appearance, Sanders took to X to thank the crowd.
“Thank you, Coachella. I enjoyed introducing the great Clairo tonight. These are tough times. The younger generation has to help lead in the fight to combat climate change, protect women’s rights, and build an economy that works for all, not just the few,” he wrote.
