Chief rival Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for reelection

ByGemma Iso

April 27, 2023

Pres. Joe Biden’s chief rival in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is endorsing Pres. Biden’s reelection and waives his own presidential bid.

The leading progressive told The Associated Press that he would “do everything I can to see the president is reelected.”

“The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman’s right to choose, or not address the crisis of gun violence, or racism, sexism or homophobia,” Sanders said in an interview.

“So, I’m in to do what I can to make sure that the president is reelected,” Sanders emphasized.

Running again

Biden on Tuesday announced his decision to seek a second term, even as polls suggest that voters in both parties don’t want him to run for the second time. The Democratic president will face the winner of the crowded Republican primary, which features former President Donald Trump and a half dozen lower-profile conservatives.

For much of the year, Sanders had left open the possibility of running again himself. On Tuesday, he said that he would not run and he discouraged any other high-profile progressive candidate from doing so either.

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders decision suggests that the progressive wing of the Democratic Party will ultimately unify behind Biden’s 2024 bid, even if progressives aren’t excited about him.

“I think Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee. And my job, and I think the progressive movement’s job, is to make certain that he stands up and fights for the working class of this country and does not take anything for granted.”

The silver-haired democratic socialist with a thick Brooklyn accent emerged as a leading progressive voice in the 2016 presidential contest and was in a position to secure the presidential nomination in 2020 before his rivals unified behind Biden’s candidacy.

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