Sen. Bernie Sanders urges Democrats to ‘stop bickering’ and support president Joe Bidenwarn those who have stimulated by fear On current president’s health, calls for new nominee to run against former president Donald Trump.
“Enough!” Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in a post The New York Times published an op-ed on Saturday.
“Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate,” Sanders wrote. “Meeting people’s needs through effective campaigns salary familyhe will not only defeat Mr. Trump, but defeat him badly.
Sanders, 82, the second-oldest sitting U.S. senator after Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, also criticized the “corporate media” for focusing “overly” on Biden’s cognitive abilities.
“The media is frantically searching for every living person who no longer supports the president or any neurologist who wants to appear on television,” Sanders wrote.
“Unfortunately, too many Democrats have joined this circular firing squad.”
Sanders’ op-ed was the latest attempt to shore up support for a Democratic presidential candidate who is suffering an unprecedented crisis of confidence since Biden’s disastrous debate with Trump in late June.
Biden, 81, looked stiff and at times inattentive during the debate, and his answers were harsh and sometimes garbled and difficult to understand.
His performance was met with near-universal criticism, sparking panic among Democratic donors and allies and lawmakers also preparing for the November election, who worry about Biden’s ability to effectively challenge Trump.
go through NBC News StatisticsNineteen congressional Democrats — including Vermont’s other U.S. senator, Peter Welch — have now called on Biden to step down, a stunning development less than four months before Election Day.
Some top Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and current House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, have issued statements recently but stopped short of explicitly endorsing Biden as the party’s nominee.
Biden has refused to withdraw, defending his fitness to run and serve as president, even as he acknowledged his poor performance in the debates.
He has also received explicit support from key Democratic groups and allies, including South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose endorsement of Biden in the 2020 election cycle was widely seen as a thorn in the side of the campaign The one saving grace.
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist and former presidential candidate, repeatedly defended Biden after the debate, setting aside his differences with the Democratic policy record.
In his op-ed on Saturday, Sanders noted his opposition to the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s military campaign against Hamas and its support for the Affordable Care Act as a cure for America’s “broken” health care system.
But Sanders wrote: “I will do everything in my power to ensure President Biden is re-elected.”
“Why? Although I disagree with him on some issues, he has been the most effective president in our country’s modern history and the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump, a demagogue and pathological liar.
“Yes. I know: Mr. Biden is old, prone to gaffes, walks stiffly, and had a disastrous debate with Mr. Trump. But I also know: The presidential election is not an entertainment contest. It did not begin and is not Concluding 90 minutes of debate,” Sanders wrote.
“Mr. Biden’s supporters can proudly talk about a good, decent Democratic president with real accomplishments,” he wrote.
Sanders pointed to Biden’s efforts to rebuild the U.S. economy upended by the Covid-19 pandemic, his investments in infrastructure and climate change-related projects, and other achievements.
He contrasted Biden with Trump, who Sanders said wanted to “cut taxes for the billionaire class” and free corporations “from exploiting workers and defrauding consumers.”
“If Mr. Biden and his supporters focus on these issues and refuse to divide and distract, the president will unite working families to his side in the industrial swing states of the Midwest and elsewhere and win 11,” Sanders said. election of the month.
“Let me stress this as strongly as possible: for the sake of our children and future generations, he must win,” he added.
