Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a fired up crowd of Bernie Sanders supporters at the University of New Hampshire that ‘we’re not going back’ – a reference to an insult President Trump made about the so-called Democratic ‘squad.’
‘There are two paths we can take – one is a nomination that brings us back to business as usual, but business as usual was not working for working people,’ she said Monday night, the eve of the New Hampshire primary. ‘Or we can choose to move forward.’
‘And as someone who has been told to go back, I’m going to tell you, we’re moving forward,’ the New York congresswoman said, making a hockey-rink full of people with Bernie Sanders posters scream.
AOC was once again Sanders’ warm-up act at a political rally, this one held at the same time President Trump was speaking to supporters an hour away in Manchester.
Ocasio-Cortez brought that up, boasting that the only reason why Trump was in the state was because he feared Sanders’ large crowds.
‘Because we know in every poll Bernie beats Trump,’ she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) warmed up a New Hampshire crowd Monday night for Sen. Bernie Sanders (right), the New York Democrat’s presidential pick
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Sanders’ supporters we’re not going back at his rally Monday night
Sen. Bernie Sanders boasted there were three times as many people at his venue than what any other Democrat got
The Strokes played a rock show after Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez left the stage, starting their set with ‘Bern-ing Down the House’
Ocasio-Cortez was cheered as she explained what ‘forward’ meant.
‘Forward to a multi-racial democracy, forward to guaranteed healthcare, forward to a living wage, forward to fighting for our neighbors, forward for indigenous rights and honoring sovereignty. Forward! Forward! Forward! That’s where we’re going to go,’ she yelled.
‘We’re not going back to the days where people had to hide, we’re not going back to the days where people had to worry, we’re not going back to the days where people had to worry – we’re not going back, we’re going to forward,’ she continued.
‘And with that, I am so excited to bring you the candidate that will get us there,’ she said. ‘Senator Bernard Sanders!’
When Ocasio-Cortez turned the stage over to Sanders, like Trump does at his own rallies, the senator and 2020 hopeful took a minute to relish his crowd size.
‘In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of people here tonight,’ Sanders said.
The Whiitemore Center at the University New Hampshire fits 7,000 people.
While the Sanders’ event had almost every seat filled, there was empty space on the rink’s floor.
The band, The Strokes, was playing the rally.
Sanders also boasted that there were ‘three times more people’ at his event than any of his Democratic competitors.
‘This turnout tells me why we’re going to win here in New Hampshire. Why we’re going to win the Democratic nomination and why we’re going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of America Donald Trump,’ Sanders said to cheers.
The Vermont senator made a similar claim in Iowa, as his campaign events were numbering in the thousands the weekend before last Monday’s caucuses.
Sanders did well in the Hawkeye State, but was edged out – barely – in the delegate count by former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Monday night’s rally came at the end of a good news day for Sanders.
For the first time ever, he topped former Vice President Joe Biden in a national poll.
A Quinnipiac survey found that 25 per cent of Democratic voters and independents who lean Democrat support Sanders.
Biden had dropped down to 17 per cent support.
The last five New Hampshire state surveys also showed Sanders in the lead.
On Friday, a Boston Globe/Suffolk University New Hampshire poll had former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg one point ahead of Sanders, indicating the young mayor had gotten a burst of momentum after Iowa.
There, Buttigieg won by the traditional metric – the percentage of delegates earned – while Sanders won the popular vote.
Sanders is expected to do well Tuesday in New Hampshire thanks to being a next-door-neighbor, and because of past precedent.
Sanders bested the eventual 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire by about 22 points four years ago.
After New Hampshire, Sanders will take a college tour through California, he also announce a Valentine’s Day visit to North Carolina. Both states vote on ‘Super Tuesday,’ March 3.