Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) declared his support for President Joe Biden in a New York Times op-ed on Saturday, stating that he would “do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected.”
Sanders began by stating that, despite the political differences he and Biden hold, Biden “has been the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”
To give his statement credibility, Sanders cited his gripes with Biden providing aid to Israel in its war against the terrorist group Hamas as well as his push for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to solve the nation’s “health care crisis.”
“And those are not my only disagreements with Mr. Biden,” he added.
Sanders continued to play devil’s advocate by acknowledging Biden’s “disastrous” presidential debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27 — in which he not only fumbled his words but made numerous false statements — and saying that Biden is “old, is prone to gaffes, [and] walks stiffly.”
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Courtesy of CNN Presidential Debate“But this I also know: A presidential election is not an entertainment contest. It does not begin or end with a 90-minute debate,” Sanders continued, seemingly dismissing Biden’s countless mishaps during his time in the White House.
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Pivoting from complaining about Biden to praising him, Sanders exclaimed, “Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate”:
Supporters of Mr. Biden can speak proudly about a good and decent Democratic president with a record of real accomplishment. The Biden administration, as a result of the American Rescue Plan, helped rebuild the economy during the pandemic far faster than economists thought possible. At a time when people were terrified about the future, the president and those of us who supported him in Congress put Americans back to work, provided cash benefits to desperate parents and protected small businesses, hospitals, schools and child care centers.
Sanders seems to have ignored the fact that inflation under Biden has put his reelection hopes in trouble, especially as “inflation and the economy” remains a top concern for voters.
However, he did demand that Biden “do more than just defend his excellent record” if reelected.
Sanders also called on Democrats — who have begun to turn against Biden in light of both his infamous debate performance and gaffe-ridden NATO appearances on Thursday — to “stop the bickering and nit-picking,” claiming that he understands the difficulty in explaining away the president’s mishaps but “unlike the Republicans, they do not have to explain away a candidate who now has 34 felony convictions…”
Turning his focus on criticizing Trump, Sanders compared the two candidates:
Joe Biden wants to tax the rich so that we can fund the needs of working families, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. Donald Trump wants to cut taxes for the billionaire class. Joe Biden wants to expand Social Security benefits. Donald Trump and his friends want to weaken Social Security. Joe Biden wants to make it easier for workers to form unions and collectively bargain for better wages and benefits. Donald Trump wants to let multinational corporations get away with exploiting workers and ripping off consumers. Joe Biden respects democracy. Donald Trump attacks it.
Unfortunately for Sanders, Trump’s popularity is only increasing. A Thursday Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found Trump and Biden in a “dead heat” for the nation’s popular vote, with each candidate garnering 46 percent support among registered voters.
“This election offers a stark choice on issue after issue,” Sanders concluded. “And let me say this as emphatically as I can: For the sake of our kids and future generations, he [Biden] must win.”
