Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang rallies in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang appeared on a stage in Mission Bay Friday evening in front of a crowd clapping and chanting "MATH!"

A few weeks ago, a lot of people in the crowd had no idea who Yang is.

The candidate's campaign picked up some serious steam after he appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience, a popular podcast. Yang made a case for universal basic income, or UBI. It's the crux of his platform.

"It's going to be a bipartisan effort and we're going to be able to get this across the finish line," Yang said. "It's something that everyone can get excited about."

INTERVIEW: Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang talks about Universal Basic Income

Yang is proposing the country set guaranteed payments of $1,000 per month, $12,000 total per year, to all U.S. Citizens 18 or older.

"When I saw this as sort of his like platform, I was like wait," Idiana Wang, a San Francisco resident said. "I got to hear more about this because like never in a million years would I think a president would actually preach this."

Some don't find UBI realistic, but Yang thinks it will help millions of working Americans who will inevitably lose their jobs to automation.

In recent years, the Midwest has been hit hard by that. Matt Kula said that's why people in his hometown of Cleveland supported Donald Trump.

"They really thought that Trump was their only way to have a chance to solve their problems," Kula said. "I don't think he had the correct policies to do it. I think Andrew really address the same problem, but he does it in a way that is sustainable."

Friday's San Francisco rally was Yang's largest yet, more than 1,000 people were in attendance. The world is watching to see if the so-called Yang Gang will continue to build momentum.