Bernie Sanders rallies hundreds in Davenport, says Democrats should prioritize needs of working class

DAVENPORT — It was standing room only as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, rallied hundreds of people on his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour stop in Davenport Friday night.

Sanders, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination 2016 and 2020, spoke critically of America's health care system, corporate influence on politics, and what he called a broken economic and political system for the working class.

Attendees sat cross legged in aisles and stood along the perimeter of the River Center South in downtown Davenport.

Sanders railed against Iowa's delegation for their votes for the Republicans' legislation dubbed the "one big beautiful bill," a sweeping bill that extends tax cuts and will impose additional requirements for Medicaid and supplemental nutrition programs after the 2026 midterms.

Sanders called cuts to Medicaid "horrific" for people who become uninsured or underinsured and avoid preventive care because they can't afford it.

The crowd rose to its feet, clapping and cheering, when Sanders said the country is facing an enormous crisis in health care and the country must "guarantee health care to every man, woman, and child."

He said no politician who voted for the bill should be reelected, to another standing ovation.

One health care worker told Sanders in a Q&A portion of the event that she is concerned for her patients on Medicaid, most of whom are already working.

Another attendee, Melissa Sherwood, who grew up in Davenport and was visiting family, but has since moved to Oregon, called on Democrats in Washington, D.C., to do more to fight for constituents. She said she watched Republicans in the U.S. Senate obstruct actions during Barack Obama's administration and wanted a similar fight from Democrats while Trump is in office.

"I want us to obstruct," she said, adding that she wanted to see elected leaders hold alternate hearings and highlight stories of people impacted by Medicaid cuts.

"We need action. We need a new playbook because our leaders are using a playbook for a political system that no longer exists," she said to cheers and applause.

In response, Sanders, like he did throughout his speech, criticized the current campaign financing system as corrupt.

He said Democrats should stop taking money from billionaires and start prioritizing the needs of the working class. He said he was coming to the Midwest to support strong, progressive candidates for office.

Sanders said he attended Trump's inauguration, where Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos sat in the front row.

"We've got a government of a billionaire class, by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class," Sanders said.

Sanders pointed to Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, who decided not to support the reconciliation bill because of the Medicaid provisions. Tillis announced he would not seek re-election after Trump said he would support primary challengers against him.

Sanders criticized Musk's Department of Government Efficiency efforts to layoff civil service employees and administration's crackdown on immigration.

"We have ICE agents, sometimes with masks around their faces, throwing people into vans and taking them illegally, unconstitutionally to detention centers," Sanders said.

He also called the U.S. funding of Israel's war in Gaza unconscionable. Sanders has introduced amendments to bar U.S. weapons sales to Israel, and in June received 12 more Democratic supporters in the Senate than on previous arms proposals.

Sanders called Trump a demagogue and said he's gone after media, law firms, and universities, as retribution for wrongs against him.

"This president is a great big bully who is afraid of people criticizing him," Sanders said. "If you are afraid of criticism, get the hell out of politics."

Sanders said it's not enough to criticize Trump and Republicans, Democrats and people who resist Trump must put forward a new vision for where America is going.

Sanders said workers, through technology, are more productive now than 50 years ago, yet inflation continues to outpace wages and inequality continues to grow.

He outlined his vision of making colleges and universities tuition-free, building more low-income housing to address rising rates of homelessness and costs of housing, raising the minimum wage to $17 an hour, making it easier to join unions, guaranteeing paid family medical leave, expanding social security and protecting gay rights.

Rally attendees looking for relief from current news cycle

Bradley Bughman, 27, of Davenport, said he came to see Sanders because he's “really tired of what the current administration has been doing."

A Sanders supporter in 2016 and 2020, Bughman said he's made a point to vote against Trump since his first election in 2016.

Bughman said he'd like to see more politicians "fight the insane demagogues and everything that this administration has been promoting."

"People are getting snatched of the streets. It's disgusting," Bughman said. "We need real solutions to help the working class, like me."

Bughman works at Sterile Processing at Trinity Hospitals, sterilizing surgical instruments. He said Sanders' talk about the unaffordability of health care resonated with him the most because of his experience working in health care.

"Health care is stupidly broke," Bughman said. He said Democrats should campaign on plans to make health care and housing more affordable.

Solimar Vazquez, 32, of Davenport, said she came because she's concerned about actions by the current presidential administration against immigrants. Vazquez is from Puerto Rico and said she's experienced racism because of where she's from.

Vazquez, who's voted for Democrats for president in the past three elections, said she sees Sanders a true leader and a genuinely good person who wants better for people.

Going to the rally, she said, gave her some motivation to keep going day-by-day through what she called depressing news cycles from the Trump administration.

"It's nice to know there are people fighting against injustices," Vazguez said.

Logan Vega, 36, of Davenport, grew up in Texas and moved to Davenport just a year and a half ago to buy and live in a historic house in Davenport.

Vega said he attended because he feels like Sanders pulls out a discourse rather than just proselytizing, plus Vega said he wanted to get to know fellow like-minded Iowans.

Vega said he's looking for ideas around strategy and clear communication on steps that everyone can take to fight oligarchy. Vega hopes the Democratic Party can unify around a few really strong messages that are invigorating and passionate, such as, he suggested, "Freedom for All."

Iowa GOP responds to Sanders’ visit

Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann called Sanders' tour a sideshow in a prepared statement sent ahead of Sanders' speech.

“Bernie Sanders’ sideshow tour rolling through Iowa is nothing more than a vanity project," Kaufmann said. "The out-of-touch, big-government socialism he’s peddling is the same radical agenda Iowans have rejected time and again at the ballot box. If this is the future Democrats are offering, it’s no wonder they keep losing ground in Iowa.”

Sanders stopped in Iowa City in February, where he railed against corporate influence on politics, especially Elon Musk's stint leading efforts to remake federal government, and called on constituents in swing districts held by Republicans to call their congressional representatives and demand they vote against cuts to Medicaid.

Earlier in the day Friday, Sanders attended a roundtable with nonprofit immigrant rights advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz.