US Senator Bernie Sanders has become one of the most popular faces of the Coachella festival so far, drawing a huge crowd when he made a stop at the biggest music festival.
Screaming fans rushed in with phones and cameras in hand to capture the politician's unannounced speech, which followed superstar Charli XCX's hit set on the adjacent stage, AFP reports.
"I won't linger long, but this country is facing some very difficult challenges and the future of what happens to America depends on your generation. You can turn away and ignore what's going on, but you do so at your own peril. We need you to stand up to fight for justice," Sanders said during the big double weekend in the California desert that marks the unofficial start of the music festival season.
Earlier in the day, Sanders and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a rally that organizers said drew 36,000 people, a stop on their own "Fighting Oligarchy" tour that featured musicians such as Neil Young, Maggie Rogers and Joan Baez.
Speaking under a full moon in the Coachella Valley, Sanders issued a call for the crowd to stand up to billionaires, health insurance companies and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
"We now have a president of the United States," Sanders began, before the crowd's boos quickly drowned out Trump's name.
"I agree. He thinks climate change is a scam. He's dangerously wrong and you and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet," Sanders continued.
Sanders delivered his speech, introducing pop singer Clairo on stage, whom he thanked for using her platform to support women's rights and for speaking out to end the war in Gaza.
"You can turn away and ignore what's happening, but if you do, you do so at your own peril. We need you to stand up, to fight for justice. To fight for economic, social and racial justice," he told the cheering crowd.
The message was strong: "I love Bernie Sanders!" shouted one festival-goer as the socialist senator, who identifies himself as a member of the Democratic Party, concluded his speech.
Samara Guillory, 21, was among the music fans who sprinted to the stage where Sanders was speaking.
"It means so much that Senator Sanders came to our level. We are the new generation, we are the future of America. To come here, to talk to us, to spread the word - I think that was the right move, honestly," she added. | BGNES
