Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was delivering a speech at his “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Saturday night when news broke that President Donald Trump had launched airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.
An aide interrupted Sanders mid-speech to hand him a note with Trump’s announcement, which had just been posted on Truth Social.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump wrote. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.”
As Sanders read the message aloud, the crowd erupted into chants of “No more wars!”
Visibly shaken, Sanders called the announcement “alarming” and “grossly unconstitutional.”
“The only body that can take this country to war is the United States Congress,” he told the crowd. “The president does not have the right.”
Sanders has consistently opposed U.S. military involvement in Israel’s conflict with Iran and has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war. “This is not our war,” Sanders emphasized. “It’s time to focus on the real problems facing Americans in Oklahoma, Vermont, and across this country.”
A bipartisan group in Congress has introduced a War Powers Resolution in response to Trump’s strikes, aiming to remove U.S. armed forces from any unauthorized hostilities involving Iran. The resolution insists that the President must have explicit Congressional approval before taking military action.
Earlier this week, Sanders warned against being dragged into a war on behalf of Israel. “Netanyahu is not the President of the United States,” he posted on social media. “If the people of Israel support his war, that is their decision. But the U.S. must not get involved.”
Sanders also criticized the Israeli prime minister’s actions as violations of international law, calling Netanyahu a “war criminal” after Israel’s recent preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The senator, who is currently on a southern leg of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, encouraged his supporters to stay engaged. “In this moment in American history, what we must do — in Vermont, in Oklahoma, in Texas — is stand up and fight back. This is our country.”
Sanders will be joined Sunday by Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke at rallies in Texas. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) previously joined him during his western tour stops.
The tour is part of a broader Democratic effort to reach voters in Republican-held districts, echoing similar strategies by DNC-backed town halls and other Democratic leaders like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Sanders also stopped in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, earlier Saturday.
