Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday urged students to “reclaim American democracy” during a commencement address at Brooklyn College in New York City.
“You do not have the moral right to turn your back on saving this planet and saving future generations,” he said.
“The truth is that the only rational choice we have, the only real response we can make, is to stand up and fight back — reclaim American democracy and create a government that works for all of us,” the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate added.
{mosads}Sanders did not mention the Trump administration during his remarks at Brooklyn College, a school he once attended.
The Vermont lawmaker also said that “directly related to the oligarchic community that we currently have is a corrupt political system, which is undermining American democracy.”
Sanders also criticized the House GOP’s healthcare bill, legislation that President Trump supports.
“Unbelievably, at exactly the same time as they are throwing people off of healthcare [and] making it harder for kids to go to college, they have the chutzpah to provide $300 billion in tax breaks to the top 1 percent,” he said of Republican lawmakers.
The House passed its bill earlier this month, but the Senate has said they will draft their own healthcare legislation.