LANSING, MI -- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, was back in Michigan on Sunday to speak to supporters and rally them against the recent tax changes signed into law by President Donald Trump.

"I'm back in Michigan to thank you for your support in the campaign and to tell you what we have accomplished together. And it's a lot," Sanders told and enthusiastic crowd of around 1,500 at the Lansing Center in Lansing on Sunday.

He said some of his ideas from the campaign, like free tuition and marijuana decriminalization, were starting to catch on in other states. Other ideas, like healthcare for all people, were gaining momentum, he said. When he first introduced a bill to institute medicare-for-all, single-payer health care, he had zero co-sponsors, he said, and "now we have 16."

Sanders won the 2016 Michigan primary over Hillary Clinton, 49.7 to 48.3 percent. Trump later won the General election.

Sanders was back in Michigan to address the tax plan championed by Republicans, one he said would eventually result in cutting social service programs Americans relied on.

"Tax breaks for the rich, raise the deficit, and then you go to the American people and say 'oh my god, the deficit is going up, we've got to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education and nutrition programs,'" Sanders said of the Republicans' plan. "That is what their agenda is."

Nicole Gill is executive director of the Tax March, a group she said fights for an economy that works for working families. She spoke before Sanders at the event on Sunday.

"We need to repeal the Trump Tax," she said. "We need to repeal the Trump tax and put working families first."

The Republicans, she said, were trying to trick people into thinking the bill benefits them. But really it's "trickle-down b.s." people won't believe, Gill said.

"It is a bill for donors, for CEOs, and for the ultra-wealthy," she said.

The Republican National Committee hit back against the message at Sanders' Lansing rally in a statement.

"Deception is the name of the game today as Socialist Sanders tries to convince Michiganders that they'd be better off without the pay raises, bonuses, and new jobs that came courtesy of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," said RNC Spokesperson Ellie Hockenbury.

"Too bad for Bernie, Michiganders see through these lies spread about tax reform by Chuck Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, and him. Even worse for these liberal Democrats, voters will remember who really fought for their higher paychecks at the polls this November."

And in addition to the tax talk, Sanders hit on some familiar themes from his campaign: protecting net neutrality, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a $15 minimum wage, guaranteed paid family and medical leave, fighting climate change, free college and overturning the Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision.

He also cited the recent gun violence in Las Vegas and Florida, calling for a ban on assault weapons.

"In my view the time is now to ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons," he said to a cheering crowd.

Part of his message, too, was getting people involved politically. He urged people to run for offices small and big, saying it didn't take any extraordinary ability to be a politician.

"Now more than ever is the time to become involved in the political process because the stakes for the future of our country have never ever been higher," he said.

Alexandra Chugunova, 21, of Constantine, attended the rally with her boyfriend, Preston Frazier, 28, or Bath. She said she and Frazier attended the 2016 rally Sanders held at Michigan State University and voted for him in the primary that year.

"There's something about sticking through with someone when you believe in him," she said.

She admires Sanders' history of standing up for causes he believes in, she said, along with some of the ideas he supports that are newer concepts to the United States. And his tax message, she said, is important.

"I believe lowering taxes for the rich has had a bad impact on the U.S. economy, for the U.S. people," she said. "Repeating this mistake is unwise."

Mark Higgins, 36, of Howard City, drove two hours to attend the event. He said he's "a big fan of the message that Bernie is trying to convey to this nation," including on the tax plan. He's concerned the tax plan gives people pennies back while taking away dollars' worth of important services.