‘I am back,’ Bernie Sanders tells supporters at NYC rally
NEW YORK » Storming past questions about his health, Bernie Sanders vowed that he’s “more ready than ever” to fight for a political revolution — with a little help from new friends — at a rally Saturday that drew thousands to a New York City park. The rally offered a pointed reminder to skeptics in both political parties that the 78-year-old democratic socialist is still very much a force in the 2020 presidential race.
Sanders opened his remarks by apologizing that he secured a permit for only 20,000 people. His campaign, he said, was forced to close the gates on many more people who were trying to enter the Queens park just across the river from Manhattan.
“To put it bluntly, I am back,” Sanders declared, sparking chants of, “Bernie is back” from the massive crowd.
“I am happy to report to you that I am more than ready — more ready than ever — to carry on with you on the epic struggle that we face today,” he added. “I am more than ready to assume the office of president of the United States.”
The event marked Sanders’ formal return to the campaign trail less than three weeks after he suffered a heart attack that threatened both his life and political future. Even before that, he was in danger of falling out of the toptier in the 2020 Democratic primary field. Polls suggest he’s lagging behind liberal rival Elizabeth Warren and establishment favorite Joe Biden.
But the fiery Brooklyn native, backed by a slate of new endorsements and two new stents in an artery connected to his heart, appeared to be expanding his coalition on Saturday.
A security company hired by the campaign reported a crowd estimate of 25,000. Among those speaking, filmmaker and activist Michael Moore told the cheering crowd that he was endorsing Sanders, shortly before Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., praised the Vermont senator on stage.
“Bernie Sanders fought for me,” Ocasio-Cortez said as she introduced Sanders.
She heaped praise on the Vermont senator but did not explicitly say that she was endorsing him. The Sanders campaign announced earlier in the week that she had.