On a sunny day on the Burlington, Vermont, lakeshore in 2015, an independent U.S. senator with a relatively low national profile shocked the political establishment by turning out a boisterous crowd of thousands as he kicked-off his unlikely presidential campaign.
On a sunny day on the Burlington, Vermont, lakeshore in 2015, an independent U.S. senator with a relatively low national profile shocked the political establishment by turning out a boisterous crowd of thousands as he kicked-off his unlikely presidential campaign.
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Now, almost exactly four years later and 40 miles down the road, in the shadow of the statehouse, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. – today a political powerhouse with millions of ardent followers who has become the preeminent driving force of the Democratic Party's recent progressive transformation – returned home on Saturday for the first Vermont rally of his 2020 campaign.
'Pathological liar'
In an animated, barnstorming speech, Sanders came out swinging, calling President Donald Trump a "pathological liar" who was driving the nation towards authoritarian rule.
In a sweeping broadside against the current administration, Sanders said he was launching his campaign “with confidence, optimism and love” and said that he refused to allow for the nation to be led by "greed, hatred and lies.”
“The underlying principles of our government will not be racism, will not be sexism, will not be xenophobia and will not be religious bigotry – and all the other mean-spirited beliefs of the Trump administration," the senator said, adding, "The principles of our government will be based on justice: economic justice, racial justice, social justice, and environmental justice.”
"Sadly, we have a president who is a pathological liar and that he says whatever he wants without regard to the truth," Sanders continued. "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 his attempting to move -- every single day -- this country into an authoritarian form of government.
The veteran Vermont politician was met with rousing applause when he spoke forcefully of protecting abortion rights, an issue on which all of the Democratic candidates have been united in recent weeks after several red states, including Alabama and Georgia, passed some of the most restrictive abortion laws in U.S. history.
“In Vermont, we understand that women have a constitutional right to control their own bodies,” Sanders insisted. “It is not politicians in the U.S. Congress or the state or the local governments that will control a women’s body,” he continued, his voice rising. “It is the women of this country themselves that control their bodies."