“Stop the Oligarchs” Is a Winning Message
Americans do not like billionaires throwing their endless money around to buy off whoever and whatever they want. The anti-oligarch messaging pushed by Bernie Sanders against the Trump administration has deep resonance, and we need more of it.
Bernie Sanders speaking during a rally on March 21, 2025, at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado. (Chet Strange / Getty Images)
It’s clear that Americans don’t like oligarchs. When the broad left is campaigning against oligarchy and oligarchs, we are on solid ground.
Politico reported Wednesday that Donald Trump has told members of his inner circle that Elon Musk will soon step down from his White House duties. The news came just after Republicans lost — by a whopping ten points — a Wisconsin judge election on Tuesday, in which Musk had campaigned prominently, spent $20 million, and, as if we lived in the worst kind of vulgar kleptocracy, offered to pay people for votes and ballot signatures.
Also on Wednesday, a Marquette University poll showed that 60 percent of respondents disapproved of Musk and his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) destroying the federal government.
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