MANCHESTER, N.H. – Bernie Sanders is hoping to take on Donald Trump in November, but Trump isn’t his only target and he doesn’t expect to fight alone.
The Vermont Senator came to Ultimate Sports Academy on Monday to not only ask New Hampshire to support him, but also lend energy to a movement against various corrupt forces he sees as arrayed against average Americans.
Sanders (I-VT) reminded the crowd that even if he is elected president, he will not be able to achieve his proposed goals alone.
“It’s not ‘hey, vote for me and I can do it all,” he said. “I’ve never said that and I don’t believe it. It’s about us.”
He placed this focus on a movement versus a single individual and a myriad of other contrasts between him and Trump in his speech, where he called Trump a pathological liar among other insults.
Sanders also criticized Republicans in Congress, calling them hypocrites for their support of “small government” that did not seem to extend to women’s reproductive rights.
Those were the only notes scorn in Sanders’ speech, with no Democrats mentioned by name. Sanders only referenced that he has many friends among the other candidates running and discussed other candidates who cannot keep up with his grassroots fundraising efforts.
“You see other candidates conferring with their donors. You are my donors,” he said to the crowd. “We don’t want (the millionaires/billionaires) money, we don’t need their money.”
Sanders also reported data from campaign indicating that 20 percent of all households in New Hampshire had at least one Sanders volunteer knock on their door on Saturday.
One lingering question within the Democratic Party is whether Sanders supporters will support the Democratic nominee if Sanders does not become the nominee. Sanders didn’t broach the question on Monday, but has indicated he and all current candidates will support the nominee, but Michael Bane of Northwood was unsure he could follow Sanders’ example.
A blue-collar worker and Sanders supporter since 2015, Bane did not vote in the 2016 General Election after voting for Sanders in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary. For now, Bane isn’t looking beyond Tuesday and focused on praise for Sanders’ movement.
“Things are exciting right now, I’m looking forward to Bernie getting the big win here,” said Bane. “Mayor Pete (Buttigieg) has some different views, obviously I don’t follow them as closely as I follow Bernie’s. There’s not much more I can say, I think the big difference is Mayor Pete taking contributions from millionaire and billionaires.”
Despite his history of support, Bane had never been to a Bernie Sanders event in the past, and he was not alone.
Like Bane, Nate Marchand of Manchester had also supported Sanders since 2015 and voted for him in the last New Hampshire Democratic Primary and expects to vote for him again largely due to his policies on student debt support and lowering healthcare costs.
Unlike Bane, he expects to vote for whoever the eventual nominee is, even Buttigieg.
“I like Mayor Pete along with Bernie, it’s fantastic that for the first time in U.S. history that an LGBTQ candidate has gotten delegates. I think Pete and Bernie would be a good pair of running mates,” he said. “I think it’s important for all Democrats to get out and vote and I will support whoever gets the nomination. It’s nonsensical to think otherwise, this is such a crucial election.”
The event also hosted people who not Bernie supporters, such as Arthur Crestai, a French citizen and political scientist visiting New Hampshire for the first time.
Crestai had a positive impression of Sanders heading into the event along with a positive impression of the New Hampshire Primary in general.
“I’m very impressed by the closeness to the candidates here and the vibrancy of the campaigns,” he said. “Seeing it in person is a very different experience. I just hope all the candidates can become friends once again at the end because I think there are much bigger challenges ahead.”
