SAN ANTONIO – Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke at a campaign rally in San Antonio Saturday night.
The rally was held at 7 p.m. at Cowboys Dance Hall at 3030 NE Loop 410. There seemed to be one main message circulating during the rally - defeat President Trump.
“Trump and his friends think they are gonna win this election by dividing our people up based on the color of their skin or where they were born or their religion or their sexual orientation. We are gonna win by doing the exact opposite,” Sanders said. “We are bringing our people together.”
This marks Sanders’ first visit to the Alamo City during his 2020 campaign for president. San Antonio was his second stop on Saturday, as he visited El Paso for a rally earlier in the morning.
Sanders started his speech by saying he aims to get rid of student debt. Sanders said under his administration, he would impose a modest tax on Wall Street speculation.
Crowds cheered in favor of this idea and several others as Sanders also addressed his stance on guaranteeing health care for all, creating more jobs across the nation and taking on the ‘corruption’ of the pharmaceutical industry.
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Another major topic Sanders touched on that sparked cheers among his supporters - marijuana record expungements and immigration reform.
"Let me ask you all a question - how many people tonight know someone who was arrested for possession of marijuana?” Sanders asked. “We are going to move forward to expunge the records of those arrested for marijuana.”
If Sanders were elected as president, he said his first day in office would also address the immigration crisis in the nation.
“I am the son of an immigrant... I know something about the immigrant experience,” Sanders said. “We are going to end the demonization of the undocumented in this country.”
Sanders said he wants to rescind all of Trump’s “racist immigration executive orders” and end border patrol policies that “allow federal agents to grab babies from the arms of their mothers or put children in cages.”
“That is not what America is about,” Sanders said.
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The Democratic senator closed the rally, saying those that vote for him and support his campaign will ultimately transform the nation.
“Brothers and sisters, if we stand together, we will not only defeat Trump - we will transform this country," Sanders said.
Sanders will head to Houston for a rally on Sunday at 1 p.m. and will close out in Austin at 5 p.m.
The rally is open to the public and tickets aren’t required.
Sanders' visit comes on the heels of a rally last week in Mesquite, where more than 5,000 supporters showed up, according to his campaign.
According to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, Bernie has doubled his support among Democratic voters in the Lone Star State and is now leading the Democratic field heading into the state’s presidential primary.
Bernie faces seven other Democratic presidential candidates in the election, which include: Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer.
Republican presidential candidates include current U.S. President Donald Trump and William Weld.