QUEENS, N.Y. In an endorsement speech to an overflow crowd in Queensbridge Park on Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) credited Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with inspiring her to run for Congress.

The only reason I had any hope in launching a long-shot campaign for Congress is because Bernie Sanders proved that you can run a grassroots campaign and win in an America where we almost thought it was impossible, she said, referring to the 2016 presidential run for which she volunteered.

Then, with the crowd of tens of thousands roaring their approval, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress welcomed her Tio Bernie the oldest presidential candidate in a crowded field to the stage.

The image of the pair of progressive rock stars with their clasped hands raised triumphantly as they waved to the crowd perfectly encapsulated the message that Sanders hoped to send with his first rally since having a heart attack at the start of the month: that he is not only prepared to serve as president, he is the voice of the rising generation of progressive, multiracial youth.

I am happy to report to you that I am more than ready more ready than ever to carry on the epic struggle that we face today, Sanders declared. To put it bluntly, I am back.

Sanders, who normally ascends the stage to the sounds of John Lennon and Yoko Onos Power to the People, chose a different track for his big comeback rally: AC/DCs Back in Black.

The event management firm staffing the event and providing security estimated that 25,872 people attended the rally, according to the Sanders campaign.

The New York City Parks Department said it had provided a permit for a crowd of 15,000 for the event. And while it is impossible to independently verify the figure, there were indeed throngs of attendees outside the rally perimeter and down the street because the campaign had determined the event was at its legal capacity.

If the estimate is even loosely accurate, it makes Sanders rally the largest of any Democratic candidate this election cycle. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts likely came closest with a mid-September rally in Manhattan that Warrens campaign estimates drew 22,000 people.