Following months of bitter battles, it all came down to this: Thousands of Sanders supporters shouting and cheering for their candidate at his rally in Santa Monica, California, while refusing to accept the fact that Hillary Clinton had just hours earlier officially clinched the Democratic party’s nomination for President of the United States.
“Next Tuesday, we continue the fight in the last primary in Washington D.C.,” the senator from Vermont vowed. “Then we take our fight to Philadelphia.”
If you’ve ever seen one of Sanders’ rallies on TV, you know that his supporters are all in. But let’s just say, TV doesn’t do these rallies any justice. Not even close.
Don’t worry if you couldn’t make this time around, TheWrap has got you covered. Here are five takeaways from Sanders’ election night rally in Santa Monica:
Sanders supporters call B.S. on Steve Kornacki’s map
While we think MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki is the cat’s meow, that sentiment wasn’t shared by Sanders supporters who chanted “bull sh-t!” every time the news anchor’s big board showed Hillary Clinton in the lead. To be fair, they weren’t too happy with CNN’s
Sanders supporters are NOT happy
Sanders’ supporters are a rowdy bunch. But it was clear something was different this time.
“I think there’s just a huge disappointment in the whole process called ‘Democracy,” digital marketing head hunter Melissa Baldridge told TheWrap. “Everyone is pretty upset.”
Asked whether she would vote for Clinton, Baldridge said she’s still thinking about. “It’s highly contingent on who she picks as a VP,” she said. “I won’t stay home but I might vote for somebody else.”
“I’m going where he goes,” Marcus Hamm, a corporate security director told TheWrap. “It’s all about Bernie for me.”
Bernie Side Eye
Of all of Sanders’ biggest supporters, two-year-old Jackson was the littlest and most adorable one. Jackson, according to his parents, is a die-hard Sanders fan. And just to prove it, he gave TheWrap his best “Bernie side eye.” Don’t mess with Jackson. He means business.
Reporters as far as the eye could see
More than a hundred reporters from all the major networks swarmed the event in the hopes that Sanders might make some news. We spotted two legends: CNN’s senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar and NBC’s senior White House correspondent, Chris Jansing.
Will he or won’t he?
That was the $64,000 question: would Bernie Sanders concede? The answer is no. When he finally took to the podium at almost 11 p.m. PT, Sanders talked about big banks, income inequality, election reform, the environment. But there was no talk of Clinton or superdelegates.
Instead Sanders vowed to continue the fight next Tuesday in D.C. and then … Philadelphia in July.
Sanders did mention that he got a got a “gracious” call from Secretary Clinton and that he congratulated her on her Tuesday wins.