Sen. Sanders targets Trump, Musk and Democrats in wide-ranging interview ahead of rally with AOC

TEMPE, Ariz. — As he rallies against President Donald Trump, the world's richest person and Trump ally Elon Musk, and other billionaires, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is also taking aim at the Democratic Party.

"I think what the American people see and what the polling suggests, and voter registration suggests is not a whole lot of faith in either party, Democrats or Republicans," the progressive champion and longtime independent senator from Vermont, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, emphasized in a wide-ranging Fox News Digital interview.

Sanders, who was pointing towards recent polling that indicated Democratic Party favorability at all-time lows, was interviewed on Thursday evening, ahead of a rally in front of over 11,000 people packed into an arena at Arizona State University, with a couple of thousand more in an overflow section outside.

It was the second stop of the day for the 83-year-old Sanders and another rock star of the left, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as the two politicians teamed up to kick off a three-day swing through the key western electoral states of Nevada, Arizona and Colorado as part of Sanders' "Fighting Oligarchy" tour.

BERNIE SANDERS AND AOC TAKE AIM AT TRUMP AND MUSK, AS WELL AS DEMOCRATS, AT WESTERN RALLIES

Sanders, who has long railed against the influence of big money in politics as he has pressed for campaign finance reforms, argued that Americans "perceive correctly that both political parties are dominated by big money interests."

The senator took aim at Musk, who was the largest single donor in last year's presidential election, dishing out nearly $300 million of his own money to support Trump's successful effort to win back the White House.

"Then he's awarded with the most important position in government. He's essentially running the government," Sanders said of Musk. "Does that make sense to people? It doesn't."

But he added that "Democrats also have a whole lot of billionaires funding their campaigns. And you know, I think people are looking for alternatives. And I think, among other things, they also want to end this corrupt campaign finance system… which allows billionaires in both parties to buy elections."

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Trump has been on a tear since returning to the White House two months ago, flexing his political muscles to expand presidential powers as he’s upended longstanding government policy and made major cuts to the federal workforce through a flurry of executive orders and actions. 

And Sanders and Cortez took to the stage at their first stop, in Las Vegas, Nevada, while Trump signed an executive order to begin the longstanding conservative goal of demolishing the Department of Education at a White House ceremony.

Sanders charged that Trump's move was "outrageous."

"First of all, they don't have the power," Sanders said. "When I talk about moving to authoritarianism, it is usurping the power of the Congress."

"If you want to get rid of the Department of Education, fine. Come to Congress and say, here's why. This is what you want to do. You cannot do it exclusively. You cannot cut funds exclusively," he added.

Sanders claimed the "American people are sick and tired of a government now run by billionaires."

Pointing to Musk — the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive who is steering Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which, as part of its mission to target government fraud and waste, has taken a hatchet to the federal workforce — Sanders argued, "We have the richest guy in the world going around, cutting the Veterans Administration, threatening the existence of Social Security while Republicans work on a tax bill that will give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the richest 1% and cut Medicaid and other programs."

Minutes later, Sanders told the crowd, "We have a message for Mr. Trump and that is, we will not allow you to move this country into an oligarchy." 

Sanders emphasized that "we’re not going to allow you and your friend Mr. Musk and the other billionaires to wreak havoc on this country."

But the inability of Democrats in Congress, who are out of power in the White House as well as the House and Senate, to stop the majority Republicans, is causing tensions within the party amid increasing calls for leaders to come up with a stronger strategy to resist Trump.

"This isn’t just about Republicans," Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd in Arizona. "We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us. That means each and every one of us choosing and voting for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand for the working class… I want you to look at every level of office around and support Democrats who fight, because those are the ones who can actually win against Republicans."

The Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez western road trip comes as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the top Democrat in the chamber, is facing increasing fire from his own party for his support last week for a Republican-crafted federal funding bill that averted a government shutdown.

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Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor Sanders mentioned Schumer during their speeches in Las Vegas or Tempe. 

And Sanders, an independent who has long caucused with the Democrats and who is part of Schumer's leadership team in the Senate, declined in the Fox News Digital interview to answer whether he agreed with calls for Schumer to step down from his leadership position.

"That's kind of inside the Beltway stuff," Sanders said.

Asked a second time about Schumer, Sanders replied, "That's not what we're here for."

But it was on the minds of some of those attending the rally.

Cindy Garman and Pat Robinson, both of Prescott, Arizona, told Fox News that they were "really disappointed" with Schumer's move. 

And Amanda Ratloff of Gilbert, Arizona, said Schumer "is not the leader we need right now. We need somebody that will actually fight back and fight for the American people and not just give in to Elon Musk and Donald Trump."

Sanders was interviewed hours after three people accused of destroying Tesla cars and charging stations were charged by the Justice Department for what Attorney General Pam Bondi called "domestic terrorism."

Tesla has faced widespread protests in recent weeks that are aimed at Musk.

Asked if he thought the crimes committed were domestic terrorism, Sanders called the attacks on Tesla "outrageous" and "absurd."

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"People have a right to protest Musk. They have a right to protest, you know, in front of Tesla," he said.

But Sanders emphasized that "nobody has the right to engage in any form of violence, period."