bernie sanders

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has come out forcefully for President Joe Biden to be the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nominee, and he's urging Democrats in Congress to unite around the president in order to address the threat posed by former President Donald Trump's candidacy.

In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, Sanders praised Biden as "the most effective president in the modern history of our country" despite his many disagreements with his 2020 Democratic primary rival. He added that Trump — who he referred to as a "demagogue and pathological liar" — was too great of a threat for Democrats to remain divided about the incumbent president.

"[Biden] is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump," the Vermont senator wrote. "It’s time to learn a lesson from the progressive and centrist forces in France who, despite profound political differences, came together this week to soundly defeat right-wing extremism."

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As Sanders referenced, the second round of French elections, in which the far-right National Rally was denied a majority in parliament despite being projected to win, leftist and centrist politicians joined forces to prevent authoritarian Marine Le Pen's party from controlling France's government. He called out both beltway media outlets and Democrats proposing Biden step aside with less than four months before Election Day, and reminded them what's at stake if Trump wins this fall.

"The media has frantically searched for every living human being who no longer supports the president or any neurologist who wants to appear on TV. Unfortunately, too many Democrats have joined that circular firing squad," Sanders argued. "Yes. I know: Mr. Biden is old, is prone to gaffes, walks stiffly and had a disastrous debate with Mr. Trump. But this I also know: A presidential election is not an entertainment contest. It does not begin or end with a 90-minute debate."

"Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate," he added. "And with an effective campaign that speaks to the needs of working families, he will not only defeat Mr. Trump but beat him badly. It’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking."

The Vermonter's endorsement is significant for the 46th president of the United States, who has so far had 19 Democrats — including Vermont's junior U.S. senator — call for him to end his reelection campaign. Sanders is regarded as the most high-profile progressive in Congress, very nearly won the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination and won millions of votes in the 2020 primary before eventually conceding to Biden.

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Sanders made it clear that his endorsement still does not mean he shares Biden's point of view on many issues. In fact, the independent senator, who is Jewish, asserted that he still "strongly" disagrees with Biden's full-throated support of Israel as it continues its offensive in Gaza. He also maintained that he disagrees with the president's view that the Affordable Care Act is sufficient to address the injustices in the U.S. healthcare system.

And while Sanders reminded readers that while "those are not my only disagreements with Mr. Biden," he nonetheless maintained that the president has "a strong record" to run on. He observed that the 2024 election "offers a stark choice on issue after issue," and that his former rival has accomplished significant progress on recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and rebuilding the economy.

"If Mr. Biden and his supporters focus on these issues — and refuse to be divided and distracted — the president will rally working families to his side in the industrial Midwest swing states and elsewhere and win the November election," he wrote. "And let me say this as emphatically as I can: For the sake of our kids and future generations, he must win."

Click here to read Sanders' full op-ed for the Times (subscription required).

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) was once President Joe Biden's primary rival in 2020. Now, the influential senator is calling on Biden — whom he has already endorsed in 2024 —to communicate a bold message to voters still on the fence about his candidacy.

A recent Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll found that Biden is still trailing former President Donald Trump in the seven swing states most likely to decide the November election — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The chief concern about Biden among holdout voters in those states is his age, according to pollsters. But Sanders told MSNBC host Alex Wagner that Biden can regain the advantage by communicating a message embracing economic populism.

"President Biden has established a good record over the last four years. There's a lot that he has to be proud of," Sanders said. We took this country, under his leadership, out of the pandemic and the economic downturn, from the pandemic a lot faster than people thought. We have started to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, putting more money into transforming our energy system and dealing with climate change. He's been a strong supporter of women's right to control their own bodies."

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"He has a good record. But I think what he's got to talk to the American people about, is an understanding that despite our accomplishments over the last three and a half years, ordinary Americans have been hurting for decades. We don't talk about it," Sanders continued.

He reminded Wagner's audience that there are still "massive" levels of income inequality and a healthcare system that the Commonwealth Fund ranked in 2023 as the worst and most costly in the world. He also described the child care system as "collapsing." A Bank of America study released in February found that American adults pay, on average, 30% of their monthly income in child care costs — the second-highest rate in the world.

"The president has been good, he's been out walking the picket line with striking workers for the first time in American history. I applaud him for that," Sanders said, with the caveat that Biden still has to win over struggling Americans on the campaign trail.

"He's gotta get up there and say, 'look, give me a second term. Give me real, Democratic control over the House and Senate, you know what, we're gonna take on the ruling class of this country, we're gonna take on greedy corporations, and we're gonna provide an economy that works for working people, not just the one percent,'" Sanders said. "I think if he gets that message out, he could win this election."

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Watch the full video of Sanders below, or by clicking this link.