While Trump lashes out at Spain, US Democrats join Barcelona rally ADDED Walz, Murphy, Mamdani, Sanders Clinton

[Nanjeanne]

Last edited Sun Apr 19, 2026, 02:01 PM - Edit history (1)

https://apnews.com/article/sanchez-lula-trump-sheinbaum-progressive-summit-e67096a2138f55f3b63d5c24a3b32789]

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Progressive leaders from around the globe gathered in Barcelona on Saturday to try and galvanize their forces and defend a rules-based world order.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, hosted two overlapping events about democracy and progressive politics in Spain’s second-largest city.

Democrats U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were present alongside the leaders of Brazil, South Africa and high-ranking officials from other left-leaning governments.

Sen. Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, spoke at the progressive rally and he didn’t shy away from blasting Trump while celebrating the loss of power of Trump’s ally Viktor Orbán in elections in Hungary last week.

“Donald Trump is out to end our democracy,” Murphy said. “We are not on the verge of a totalitarian takeover, we are in the middle of it.”

But, he said, “Americans are watching what is happening across the world, and the victory in Hungary just one week ago lifted our sails.”

Walz, Kamala Harris’ vice presidential candidate who has faced a violent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement migration crackdown in Minnesota, threw barbs at U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who campaigned for Orbán and has backed far-right parties in Europe.

“Unlike our current vice president, I’m not here to arrogantly lecture or scold you, I am not here to pick a fight with the Pope or host a rally for any local wannabe authoritarians,” Walz said.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders all sent video messages played at the rally.

[Nanjeanne]

1. More info and links

https://www.commondreams.org/news/summit-spain]

The Global Progressive Mobilization meeting will include roundtables dedicated to discussing economic inequality and other issues at a time when, as one report showed earlier this month, the richest 0.1% of people on the planet are stashing more than $2.8 trillion in tax havens—more than the wealth owned by the entire bottom 50% of humanity.

The economic hardships of working people have only been exacerbated by the war on Iran, which has sent global energy prices soaring.

US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is the only federal US official planning to attend the gathering, while New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani—who has swiftly taken steps toward enacting a universal childcare program and announced a plan to tax second homes valued at over $5 million since taking office in January, is scheduled to participate virtually.

Also on Saturday, Lula and Sánchez will host the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy, a summit first held in 2024 with the aim of combating “extremism, polarization, and misinformation.”

[Nanjeanne]

2. Video Tim Walz speech

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[Nanjeanne]

3. Chris Murphy Speech

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[Nanjeanne]

4. Mamdani and Sanders Video Message

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[Nanjeanne]

5. Clinton Video Message

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[leftstreet]

6. DURec

Thanks for putting all this together!