Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has doubled down on his support for President Biden, arguing that excluding him from the Democratic presidential nomination would “do more harm than good.”
Sanders, In an interview An article published in The New Yorker on Wednesday also suggested the president could win a “big win” against former President Trump in November.
The Vermont independent, who ran against Biden in the 2020 presidential election, acknowledged that Biden is “not a perfect candidate” but said he doesn’t think there is a “better path forward” for the Democratic Party other than putting the incumbent president at the top.
“I think he’s the best candidate, and if he runs a strong, effective campaign that’s focused on the needs of the working class in this country, he’s going to win in a big way,” Sanders told the outlet. “And I think he has a chance to win in a big way.”
He has been one of Biden’s most vocal supporters as he faces growing pressure from some Democrats to drop out of the 2024 presidential race following his poor performance in last month’s debate with Trump.
Sanders said the media should focus more on Biden’s record and plans for the future, rather than his “disastrous performance” in the debate.
“What the media needs to do, in my opinion, is to focus not just on what happened in the debate, but on the differences between Joe Biden and his record and his vision for the future,” the senator said. “If we want to talk about cognitive ability and what people are saying, we should take a long look at Donald Trump as well.”
He also noted that pre-debate polls had Biden trailing Trump slightly, but that the gap hasn’t changed significantly since last month. While the gap isn’t huge, Trump’s slight lead, especially in battleground states, has grown in the weeks since the debate.
An average of national polls managed by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) showed Trump leading Biden by 1.7 percentage points as of Tuesday.
“And given that Biden has had a really terrible few weeks since the debate, with Democrats busy attacking him and the media busy attacking him, I think unless Biden is in a worse position than he was before the debate, he has a very good chance of winning,” Sanders added.
New Yorker writer Isaac Chotiner denied the claim, saying Biden was already lagging behind the former president and had dropped “a bit” in the polls, suggesting the president’s approval rating “can’t get any lower.”
“No, but let me add to that: I’ve criticized the Biden campaign much more than the debates, which we all understand were a disaster,” Sanders replied. “The fact is, Biden’s record is, in my view, the strongest record of any president in modern American history. I just don’t think they communicated that well.”
Progressive lawmakers suggested Biden do more to talk about addressing the needs of the working class and how to “stand up to powerful special interests.”
This statement was made by Sanders Editorial After two weeks of public debate over whether Biden should continue campaigning for president, The New York Times called on Democrats to end the “firing squad.”
Many House Democrats, including Sanders’ colleague Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), have publicly called for Biden to step down because they have concerns about whether he can beat Trump.
“Enough is enough! Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he is the candidate and he should be the candidate,” Sanders said. I have written “And by running an effective campaign that addresses the needs of working families, he will not only beat Trump, but beat him by a large margin,” the editorial said.
“It’s time for Democrats to stop bickering and obsessing over small details,” he added.
