“Power to the People ,” the speakers blare as 83-year-old senator Bernie Sanders takes the stage to loud cheers from the thirty thousand attendees. His protégé, 39-year-old New York Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, welcomes him with a big hug. With his cap tilted on his head and his hands characteristically riveted to the lectern, the senator from Vermont thunderously paraphrases Abraham Lincoln: “Government is of the people and for the people—not by billionaires for billionaires!” The sports field in Folsom, California, two hours northwest of San Francisco, is buzzing.

Sanders en Ocasio-Cortez trekken het land door met hun Fight the Oligarchy-tournee. Met de politieke rally’s strijken ze vooral neer in Republikeinse kiesgebieden, zoals hier op het platteland in Folsom in Californië. Overal overstijgt de massa bezoekers de verwachtingen en domineert het duo de nieuwskoppen. Maar de boodschap van hun show is niet alleen gericht tegen Trump en Musk, het is...