San Jose’s Councilman Captain America meets Bernie Sanders

Too bad San Jose Councilman Lan Diep couldn’t hide behind his Captain America shield.

The eccentric lawmaker, who’s the lone Republican on the San Jose City Council, was spotted at a Bernie Sanders event this summer. But Diep didn’t want to be seen at the far-left Vermont Independent’s rally. “I don’t really want people knowing I’m here,” he said. Sanders is running on the Democratic ticket.

Diep, who made national headlines in 2017 for donning a Captain America shield at his swearing-in ceremony, told San José Spotlight that he was invited to the Sanders’ rally. He declined to comment on what he thought of the rally or the presidential candidate’s platform.

With Diep in the crowd, Sanders talked free college, Medicare for All, massive criminal justice and immigration policy reforms and new gun safety legislation. Sanders promised to make America “work for everyone,” if elected to the nation’s highest office.

There were cheers, chants and claps — and some boos, mostly directed at Trump, Big Pharma, for-profit prisons and private insurance companies.

The Sanders rally isn’t the first time that Diep, who is facing a tough re-election challenge in 2020, ruffled feathers by showing up at a Democratic event. In 2017, Diep missed his first City Council meeting to travel to Chicago to watch President Barack Obama’s farewell address.

Diep also worked on Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012.

Two weeks before the Sanders rally on June 1, Diep showed up at an event featuring Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro where he tweeted his excitement. The Sanders rally, however, got no Twitter love from Diep.

I love engaging in ideas. I love politics. I love campaigns. But there’s just something uplifting and special about presidential campaigns and meeting presidential candidates. Excited to meet fellow Texan, @JulianCastro today! #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/zYMwKwarhE

— Lân Diệp (@LTDiep) May 17, 2019