On Saturday night (April 12), Independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at Coachella, appearing on stage to introduce Clairo before her set. He also took the opportunity to speak to the crowd about wealth inequality, climate change and abortion.

Sanders was introduced by Florida representative (and first Gen Z member of Congress) Maxwell Frost, before beginning a brief but emotive speech. “This country faces some very difficult challenges,” he began. “And the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation.”

“Now, you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up, to fight for justice,” he continued. “To fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice.”

He went on to refer to Donald Trump. “We’ve got a president of the United States, who’s…” he began, before being drowned out by loud boos from the crowd. “I agree,” he said in response to the booing. “He thinks that climate change is a hoax. He is dangerously wrong. And you and I are gonna have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet.”

Sanders also spoke about the rollback of abortion rights all over the US. “All over this country – not in California, not in Vermont – but in Florida where Maxwell is from, politicians are trying to take away a woman’s right to control her own body. We need you to stand up and fight for women’s rights.”

He also hit out at the “billionaire class” and implored people to join in the fight for a fairer economy. “We have an economy today that is working very well for the billionaire class but not for working families,” he said. “We need you to help us to create an economy that works well for everybody, not just the 1 per cent.”

He went on to criticise the inaccessibility of healthcare in the US. “We have a healthcare system that is broken,” he said. “We are the only major country not to guarantee healthcare to all people. We need you to stand up to the insurance companies, and the drug companies, and understand that healthcare is a human right.”

Sanders concluded his brief speech by thanking Clairo for her own activism efforts. “Now, I’m here to introduce Clairo,” he said. “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try to end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza, where thousands of women and children are being killed. So I want to thank Clairo not only for being in a great band, but also for the great work she is doing.”