title:  Sanders Slams Trump On Campaign Trail: ‘The Essence Of His Campaign Is Bigotry’
text: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders hit the campaign trail for his former opponent in the Democratic primary on Monday, and he didn t mince words when it came to Republican nominee Donald Trump. As we all know, Trump has run one of the ugliest, most bigoted campaigns we ve seen this side of the Civil Rights Era. To that end, Bernie wasn t just there to stump for Hillary, but also to make sure his audience understands just who Donald Trump is, and what he stands for. Bernie began: My opposition to Trump goes beyond the fact that he refuses to recognize the reality of climate change. It goes beyond his willingness to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut programs for working people. My opposition in the strongest way to Trump is that he is making the cornerstone of his campaign, not economics, not healthcare, not the environment   the essence of his campaign is bigotry. Bernie didn t stop there, though, and continued the all -out assault on Trump from his platform on the stage in Lebanon, New Hampshire: We re supposed to hate anybody who is different than we are. He went on to remind everyone of Trump s outrageous statements regarding Muslims, women, Mexicans, and other groups. After all, lest we forget, Trump actually kicked his campaign off by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. After that, he called for, quote,  a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. Of course, we all know that Trump has spent the last year and a half appealing to the most disgusting and dark elements of the underbelly of racist American populism. He has brought overt racism and fringe white supremacy mainstream   so much so, in fact, that he has inspired former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke to run for the U.S. Senate.So, GOP, remember all of these FACTS next time you try to tell minorities that your party isn t bigoted. With Trump as your standard   bearer, how the hell can you expect us to believe that?Good on you, Bernie, for calling a spade a spade, and reminding the American people just who and what Donald Trump and his disgusting campaign really is.Featured image via Darren McCollester/Getty Images