Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) officially endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president during a campaign rally on Sunday.
At an event at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Tlaib criticized a culture of “corporate greed” in America while vowing that Sanders would not “back down” from a fight with wealthy interests.
{mosads}“We deserve someone who writes the damn bills. We deserve Bernie Sanders,” Tlaib said Sunday.
In an accompanying video released on YouTube, Tlaib lovingly referred to Sanders as “Amo Bernie,” using the Arabic word for “uncle.” Tlaib is one of two Muslim-American women in Congress, the other being Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a fellow supporter of Sanders.
“I think Amo Bernie, when he saw just not myself but my other sisters in service being attacked by this president, this bully, for him there was no hesitation. He jumped on board and said, ‘what can I do to uplift you all? What can I do to support you all?'” Tlaib said in the video.
“He truly believes that women like us, women that this institution hasn’t been ready for, that [it’s important that] we feel supported,” Tlaib continued.
Tlaib’s endorsement of Sanders comes just days after the senator was endorsed by her political ally and fellow “squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at a rally in Queens, New York attended by nearly 26,000 people.
Sanders, who suffered a heart attack earlier this month before returning to the debate stage and campaign trail days later, has lagged behind former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in some polling of early primary states, though he has reliably remained one of the three top-polling candidates in the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field.