Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour in Asheville on August 10, 2025. (Screengrab You Tube livestream)
North Carolinians crowded into Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville Sunday for a chance top hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The 83-year-old Vermont senator is using the August congressional recess for a series of stops across the nation billed as the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.
Sanders told the audience that by standing together they can defeat authoritarianism and create a nation and a government that works for all.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do because today in America we are living in a nation in which in many respects we have become an oligarchic society, where our country is being run by a handful of multi-billionaires, and these people worship wealth and they worship power and they could care less about how they get what they want,” said Sander.
Sander said it is time to tell these oligarchs “enough is enough.”
Wealth inequality was a common theme during his 20-minute address.
“One guy — Mr.[Elon] Musk — owns more wealth than the bottom 52% of American households. It’s really hard to imagine that we have evolved into the kind of society with one man owning more wealth than the bottom half of America. You got the top 1% owning more wealth than the bottom 93%. You got the CEOs of large corporations making 350 times what their workers make,” Sanders said to an energized base.
Sanders said this disparity rarely receives the attention it deserves because of the concentration of ownership in the media.
“Why do you think the American people don’t discuss the important issues facing the working class of this country? It has everything to do with the fact that you have six major media conglomerates owning control what 90% of the American people see, hear and read,” Sanders said.
He called out Musk’s ownership of X, Larry Ellison’s purchase of Paramount (which owns CBS), Jeff Bezos’ ownership of the Washington Post, and Rupert Murdoch’s control of Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and more.
Sanders said ever since the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, billionaires have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into both political parties to buy more and more influence.
He told the crowd that if America hoped to retain democracy it would need to overturn Citizens United and embrace the public funding of elections.
“If you want to run for office, I want you to be able to do so, but you should not have to beg billionaires for campaign contributions and be beholden to them,” he said.
The progressive senator gave the audience plenty of reasons to consider a run for local office: a lack of affordable housing, an educational system from childcare to college that is much too expensive, and a health care system in which 85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured.
At a Friday appearance in Wheeling, West Virginia, Sanders told the crowd one of the reasons he believed former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 race was because she had “too many billionaires telling her not to speak up for the working class of this country.”
Sander steered clear of that assertion in Asheville, instead noting Trump and his associates believe in a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class.
“In this difficult moment in American history, we have got to respond in an unprecedented way. We need you. You can’t sit it out. Sorry, I know it’s tempting. You can’t put your head under your covers, we need you to join us in the struggle.”
Before Sunday’s Asheville rally, Sanders dismissed the likelihood that he would run for president in 2028. He turns 84 in September.
But the Vermont independent told CNN’s “State of the Union” there would be a younger candidate representing the party’s progressive wing.
Voter turnout by age in NC’s 2024 General Election: (Source: NCSBE)
He has appeared with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., by his side in more than half a dozen Fighting Oligarchy events. Former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has also shared the stage with Sanders.
Attracting younger voters to their cause may be key.
In the 2024 general election, just 57.4% of North Carolina’s eligible voters age 18-25 cast a ballot in the presidential election. For the 2024 primary, less than 8% of eligible voters in that age bracket voted.
Sanders knows they will need to improve turnout to see a reversal of fortunes.
“I don’t have a PhD in mathematics but I do know that 99% is a hell of a bigger number than 1%,” said Sanders in closing out his North Carolina appearance. “Brothers and sisters, let’s go forward. Let’s take on these oligarchs let’s beat them.”