Politics Sanders says US becoming authoritarian under Trump

Bernie Sanders said Donald Trump has "absolutely" created a constitutional crisis and is pushing the United States "very rapidly toward an authoritarian form of society".

- Lauren Gambino

The independent senator from Vermont has been rallying the anti-Trump resistance on a cross-country "Fight Oligarchy" tour, drawing some of the largest crowds of his decades-long political career as he taps into rising anger over the president's power grabs.

In an interview after an event in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday night, Sanders accused Trump of illegally attempting to dissolve government agencies, including via an executive order, signed hours before the senator took the stage, to dismantle the US Department of Education, which cannot be done without the approval of Congress. He also pointed to the Trump administration's defiance of a federal judge's order not to deport a group of Venezuelan immigrants.

"So yes, I think we are in the midst of the constitutional crisis," Sanders said.

Sanders is packing venues across the country - in Republican-held districts and swing states Democrats lost in 2024. The senator said Americans were clearly "very disturbed" by the daily turmoil in Washington, and that they felt squeezed, stressed and desperate for leaders who are willing to fight for them.