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Sanders rally draws big crowd in Traverse City

Hundreds of people lined up to see Bernie Sanders Friday at the Streeters Center in Traverse City.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was in Traverse City today. Hundreds of people waited calmly in line to see him speak.

Sanders told a packed crowd that the decline of Detroit - and the decline of the American middle class - is partly due to international trade policies.

He says many trade policies cater to big money interests.

“If you are a large multinational corporation, why would you want to pay a worker in Michigan twenty, twenty-five, thirty bucks an hour when you can shut down those plants here, go to Mexico, go to China, go to Vietnam, go to other low wage countries, and then you can bring your products right back into this country," said Sanders.

Sanders says these policies are no good for American manufacturing or the middle class.

Tina Schuett is a business owner from Traverse City. She says she’s voting for Sanders even though some of his policies might hurt her business.

“Because most likely, he’ll increase taxes, but I’m ok with that," says Schuett. "I think it’s more important that people are heard and taken care of.”

Schuett was one among many at the rally who said social issues made them support Sanders.

Michigan’s presidential primary is on Tuesday.

Morgan Springer is a contributing editor and producer at Interlochen Public Radio. She previously worked for the New England News Collaborative as the host/producer of NEXT, the weekly show which aired on six public radio station in the region.