Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday returned to Brooklyn, his birthplace, for the first rally of his second presidential campaign and sought to tie his working-class background to his populist views that are helping reshape the Democratic Party.
He predicted he would win the nomination in a field of now-double digit rivals and then defeat President Donald Trump, "the most dangerous president in modern American history."
After falling short in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, the Vermont independent told supporters at a rally at Brooklyn College, which he once attended, that his campaign is saying "loudly and clearly that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies. It will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry. That is going to end."
Sanders pledged to fight for "economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice."
He had begun his 2016 campaign in Vermont, which he has represented in the Senate for nearly two decades. But this time, as he tries to showcase more of his personal story, Sanders kicked off his 2020 bid in the New York City borough where he grew up as the son of a Jewish immigrant and lived in a rent-controlled apartment.
Campaign priorities include "Medicare for all," a $15-an-hour minimum wage and addressing climate change. And Sanders is focusing on his working-class roots and how his family's financial struggles have shaped his views. In those reflections is an implicit contrast to another New Yorker, Trump, a billionaire who hails from Queens.
After Brooklyn, Sanders planned to travel to Selma, Alabama, where he will be among the politicians commemorating the anniversary of the 1965 clash known as "Bloody Sunday," when peaceful demonstrators were beaten back by Alabama state troopers as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. A second campaign rally this weekend was set for Chicago, where he attended the University of Chicago and was involved in civil rights protests.
Sanders had previously frustrated some aides and supporters with his reticence to share more of his personal story.
Sanders joins the 2020 race not as an outlier but as one of the best-known candidates in an large and expanding field. He also has a strong base of small-dollar donors: In the first week of his campaign, Sanders raised $10 million, far outpacing his rivals.
The political moment that he faces in his second bid, however, is far different than when he ran four years ago. A number of the liberal positions that Sanders has championed, in some cases for years, have been backed by other Democrats in the field, notably Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is campaigning with similar populist notes.
TURIN, Italy (AP) — U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz frustrated Daniil Medvedev to the point that that the Russian broke his racket and was docked a point in a 6-4, 6-3 victory for the American in the opening match of the ATP Finals on Sunday.
On the only break point of the first set for either player, Medvedev went for a bigger-than-usual second serve but his attempt landed in the net to hand Fritz the set.
It was Medvedev's third consecutive double-fault.
“I have this every day, day in, day out, since like two, three years. Every practice is a struggle. Every match is a struggle,” Medvedev said. “Now I feel zero pleasure of being on the court.”
The first set had been virtually dead even until the final game and Medvedev immediately seemed to regret his decision — or his execution — as the Russian went over to his bench in a fit of rage.
Medvedev first slammed his racket against the bench, which resulted in a slight dent. Then he banged the racket again on the hard court inside Inalpi Arena and mangled the frame into a twisty mess — prompting him to toss it behind him.
Medvedev received a code violation from the chair umpire for his behavior.
“I get angry, frustrated. This time completely with myself, not with anyone. Just with myself,” Medvedev said.
Midway through the second set, Medvedev was docked a point after he was broken and lost his cool again.
Medvedev then acted as if he was going to return serve with his racket facing the wrong way — he held it with the butt of the racket and the grip facing Fritz. That drew whistles from the crowd and Medvedev changed the racket position just before Fritz served.
“I was like, ‘Whatever, I lost the match. I don’t care,'” Medvedev said.
Fritz wasn’t bothered by Medvedev’s behavior.
“I was just laughing. I think he’s really funny, to be honest,” Fritz said. “Even when he’s not playing me, he always cracks me up.”
Still, Fritz decided to increase his focus and he closed the match out at love — serve-and-volleying on his first match point.
“It’s very easy sometimes when someone’s doing that, you can relax and think that they’re just going to be done and then you kind of drop your level,” Fritz said. “So I just had to try to tell myself, ’Stay focused, play a really good 5-3 game because he was going to fight for that game.' Luckily, I served a great game.”
Fritz won long and memorable rallies at the start of each set, one that included 26 shots and another that lasted 30.
“It was huge,” Fritz said. “I kind of just fought through. ... I thought I did a solid job showing him that I wasn’t going to give him a lot of free points.”
It was points like those that left Medvedev demoralized.
“Literally everyone can stay in the rally with me right now,” Medvedev said.
In September at the U.S. Open, Fritz became the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final in 15 years but he lost the championship match to top-ranked Jannik Sinner.
The Californian is appearing at the season-ending event for the year’s top eight players for the second time. Two years ago, Fritz beat Rafael Nadal in his opening match and lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Later, Sinner plays Alex de Minaur, who is making his debut at the finals, and Fritz will get a rematch with Sinner later in the week.
The other group starts play on Monday with Carlos Alcaraz facing Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev meeting Andrey Rublev.
The top two finishers from each round-robin group advance to the semifinals.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Russia's Daniil Medvedev reacts during the singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against United States' Taylor Fritz, at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Daniil Medvedev throws a broken racket during his singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against Taylor Fritz, of the United States, at the Pala Alpitour, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)
Russia's Daniil Medvedev reacts during the singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against United States' Taylor Fritz, at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Russia's Daniil Medvedev reacts during the singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against United States' Taylor Fritz, at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
United States' Taylor Fritz returns the ball to Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Daniil Medvedev looks on during a break in the singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against Taylor Fritz, of the United States, at the Pala Alpitour, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)
United States' Taylor Fritz celebrates after winning against Russia's Daniil Medvedev the singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Daniil Medvedev throws a broken racket during his singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals against Taylor Fritz, of the United States, at the Pala Alpitour, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)
