Bernie Sanders tells Democrats opposing Trump is 'not enough' after socialist election wins

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Bernie Sanders warned Democrats that opposing President Donald Trump is “not enough,” pointing to a string of democratic socialist victories as evidence that his progressive agenda is gaining momentum.

The wins have given Sanders fresh reason for optimism about the movement he has championed for years. He argued that Democrats must offer voters more than resistance to Trump.

Bernie Sanders says anti-Trump stance insufficient

In a 10-minute social media address on Thursday, July 2, ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Vermont independent said his movement was always intended to extend far beyond his own presidential campaigns.

“As I think all of you know, our political revolution, our grass roots movement, was never ever about electing one person to become president of the United States, not Bernie Sanders, not anybody else,” Sanders, 84, said.

“We are a movement to elect progressives at every level to fight for a government that represents all of us and not just the one percent,” he added.

Sanders then pointed to recent victories that he believes show the movement is gaining ground.

He highlighted Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist who defeated longtime Democratic Rep Diana DeGette in a Colorado House primary, calling it a “huge upset victory.”

He also cited New York City, where three candidates backed by democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani won House primaries last month, along with a billionaire wealth tax measure that qualified for the California ballot.

Bernie Sanders predicts political revolution after socialist wins

“I think there is a growing consensus that our agenda is the agenda of the American people,” Sanders said. He went further, declaring that the country could be approaching the political transformation he has advocated for years.

“I believe that it may just be possible that this country is on the verge of the political revolution we have fought for such a long time,” Sanders said.

The four-term senator, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016 and 2020, acknowledged that he does not have a “crystal ball to tell you what will happen next.”

But his message to the Democratic Party, with which he caucuses despite not being a member, was direct.

“We need a party that is not just in opposition to Trump and his disastrous policies,” Sanders said. “That is vitally important, and progressives are going to lead the way in opposition to Trump. But that is not enough.”

Bernie Sanders urges progressive Democratic agenda

Sanders said the party should be prepared to confront forces he described as dominating American public life.

“We need a party that is prepared to take on the greed and the ideology of the oligarchs who now control the economic, media and political life of our nation,” he said.

He called for Democrats to embrace policies including Medicare for All, a higher minimum wage, building “millions of units” of affordable housing, and ending “these endless and horrific wars."