Before Sanders took the stage, Fain delivered a speech praising Kamala Harris’ track record on unions and protecting manufacturing jobs. At various points Fain called Trump a scab and attacked him for his failures to protect manufacturing jobs during his presidency.

"With Trump, everything is for sale. America is for sale," Fain said. "That’s what this fight is about."

Fain’s highlighting of Trump’s failed promise to auto workers in Lordstown, Ohio, and general focus on the threat he poses to manufacturing jobs got a mixed reception from the largely college-aged audience. However, the crowd did react when Fain criticized Trump and J.D. Vance for their anti-immigration rhetoric, which Fain said unnecessarily divides the working class.

"That’s how the corporate class gets over us," Fain said. "They want to divide us and they want to dehumanize people, because they don’t want you to see them as human beings."

After Fain’s speech, Sanders took the stage and immediately launched into the progressive arguments that have made him so popular amongst young people. The Senate's longest-serving independent mocked Trump with a fake cry and stated plainly that no person supporting the rule of law should vote for him.

Sanders hammered on many issues relevant to young voters such as securing abortion rights, raising the minimum wage and reforming campaign finances. He also stressed the threat of climate change, pointing to the carnage left in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

"If Trump gets elected president, the fight against climate change is over. We have surrendered. We have lost," Sanders said. "If the United States, the largest economy in the world, turns its back on the fight against climate change, (the world) will do the same."

Sanders also praised the Biden administration for canceling student loan debt for five million people. He then said that there’s still more to do and that every public college and university in America should be tuition free, which the crowd responded to with loud applause and cheers.

Sanders concluded his speech by emphasizing the need for everyday Americans to stand together against the richest one percent of the country. Only in class solidarity, Sanders argued, can Americans secure guaranteed healthcare, increases in the minimum wage and an end to the housing crisis.

"If we stand together and not let demagogues divide ourselves by the color of our skin, where we were born or our sexual orientation," Sanders said. "If we stand together and fight for a nation of economic, social, racial justice, we can create an extraordinary nation in which all of our people have a high quality of life."

Sanders and Fain’s visit to East Lansing came as absentee voting began in Michigan last Friday. MSU students will also be able to vote early starting Oct. 21 at the Communication Arts & Sciences building in room 195-A.