Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour in Asheville on August 10, 2025. (Screengrab You Tube livestream)

He may now be 83, but few if any American political leaders do a better job of truth-telling and connecting with young people than Vermont’s sagacious Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sanders was in Asheville this week as part of a national “Fight the Oligarchy” tour and as NC Newsline’s Clayton Henkel reported, the senator pulled no punches in blasting the ruthless and un-American authoritarianism that President Trump and his minions are seeking to inflict on the nation.

As Sanders rightfully observed, quote “we are living in a nation in which in many respects we have become an oligarchic society, where our country is being run by a handful of multi-billionaires, and these people worship wealth and they worship power and they could care less about how they get what they want.”

Sanders noted further the scandalous fact that one man – Elon Musk — owns more wealth than the bottom 52% of American households.

The bottom line: Sanders is too old to run for president again, but his message is fresher and timelier than ever. The nation needs to hear it repeatedly.

For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.