ST. LOUIS — Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont took the stage here Monday - the day before Missouri's Presidential primary — to chants of "Bernie" from a near-capacity crowd of 2,850 at the Stifel Theater in downtown.
Sanders spoke for more than 40 minutes, covering several of his familiar campaign topics ranging from raising the minimum wage to universal healthcare.
Before his rally, the Senator spoke to 5 On Your Side in a St. Louis television exclusive. The first topic: coronavirus.
Sanders said there is "a whole lot" he would be doing differently than the Trump administration to respond to the spread of the disease as President.
"The most important point is we have to have an administration that believes in science," said Sanders. "It's a threat to our country and you need the best minds, the best researchers and the best doctors involved. That is not Vice President Pence," whom President Trump tapped to lead the federal response.
"You bring together the best researchers of the world. You work with people all over our country," said Sanders who said one priority of the country's response should be hospitals and their intensive care units.
"Making sure that hospitals all across this country have ICU's that are ready to go, that doctors and nurses themselves are given the kind of information they need to protect themselves because of our health care front line goes down and we're not left with much," Sanders told 5 On Your Side.
"So there's an enormous amount of work to be done. But I feel very much that the people of this country do not have the faith in this Trump administration, which is basically an anti-science administration," Sanders said.
Sanders covered a range of other topics with 5 On Your Side, including why the Senator - who lost to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Missouri primary by fewer than 2,000 votes - believes his message will resonate with Missouri Democrats. You can hear the Senator's entire interview on the 5 On Your Side's YouTube channel.