Bernie Sanders to Join Rashida Tlaib for Tour of Michigan District

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will join Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for a tour of the Michigan lawmaker’s district, the presidential hopeful announced on Wednesday.

The news follows reports of coming endorsements from three of the “Squad” members– Tlaib, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

“There are few better examples of what unfettered corporate greed is doing to working people than what’s going on in Michigan,” Sanders said in a statement.

He continued:

I look forward to spending the day with Rashida, hearing directly from people in her district because their concerns speak to the broader needs of the working class around the country, especially affordable housing and guaranteeing quality education and health care for all.

.⁦@BernieSanders⁩ will join ⁦@RashidaTlaib⁩ in Michigan for a tour of her district on Oct. 27, his campaign confirms. Statement from Sanders: pic.twitter.com/Vc8iwd814d

— Adam Kelsey (@adamkelsey) October 16, 2019

Sanders’ announcement comes on the heels of Omar’s formal endorsement.

“And we know in order to take on Trump, we’re going to need a unifier– someone who understands what the fight looks like and someone who is ready to defeat him,” Omar said in a video endorsement posted to Twitter.

“I was one of the people inspired by the movement that the Senator has built. There was an America that I dreamed about. There is an America that most people believe in,” she said, adding that is just “an ideal” and “not reality yet.”

“This is not just the fight for our lives. This is the fight for our democracy. This is the fight for a better future. One we can all be proud of,” she continued:

.@IlhanMN is a leader of strength and courage. She won't back down from a fight with billionaires and the world’s most powerful corporations to transform our country so it works for all of us.

Together we will build a multiracial working class coalition to win the White House. https://t.co/fQ6p9sLwle

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 16, 2019

Sanders, who teased a potential Ocasio-Cortez endorsement during the presidential debate, essentially confirmed it is on its way, announcing the socialist lawmaker as the special guest of his rally in Queens this weekend:

I'm so excited to have @AOC join us at our rally in New York this weekend. Help us show the powerful special interests that we're not backing down and join us on Saturday in Queens: https://t.co/nyqtMVEcXQ

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 16, 2019

Sanders’ appearance with Tlaib – who is also rumored to endorse the socialist presidential hopeful – is significant given Michigan’s status as a swing state and previously held Democrat stronghold until Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton in 2016. He secured the state with 47.3 percent to Clinton’s 47 percent.