One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Bernie Sanders Pledges To Continue Campaign Despite Loss In California Primary
Senator Bernie Sanders raises his fist at his California primary election night rally on June 7, 2016 in Santa Monica. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Despite the dire numbers from the California primary, Berners packed an airplane hangar in Santa Monica to hear what some thought might be the final speech from Senator Bernie Sanders' campaign as a presidential candidate. However, the Vermont senator pledged to continue his fight—all the way to the Democratic convention in late July.At the Santa Monica Municipal Airport, almost three hours after the polls closed in the California primary, Sanders finally took to the stage to and thanked the crowd "for being a part of the political revolution."
For a while, it almost sounded like Sanders was on his way to making a concession speech, laying out a larger goal of shaping and changing the future of the country, and "not [allowing] right-wing Republicans to control our government," adding it was "especially true with Donald Trump as the Republican candidate." The rhetoric was much less pointed and combative, which some say was the undoing of his upstart campaign.
"The American people will never support a candidate whose major theme is bigotry," he said of Trump. "We will not allow Donald Trump to become President of the United States. But we understand that our mission is more than just defeating Trump. It is transforming our country."
Although Hillary Clinton claimed the Democratic nomination earlier in the evening after winning the New Jersey and New Mexico primaries, Sanders then said, "Next Tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in Washington, D.C."
"And then we take our fight for social, economic, racial, and environmental justice to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," where the Democratic convention will be held on July 25, he said. "I am pretty good in arithmetic and I know that the fight in front of us is a very steep fight."
You can watch Sanders' speech here:
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
