Sanders tells stubborn supporters refusing to back Biden that voting for Trump would be 'irresponsible'
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recently gave up his presidential dream after finding his growing delegate gap with former vice president Joe Biden too big to bridge. The 78-year-old had a good start to the primary cycle but eventually fell behind Biden who bagged all the Super Tuesday contests in March.
On Tuesday, April 14, Sanders issued a caution to his loyalists saying it would be "irresponsible" on their part if they did not back Biden and a non-action will only help incumbent President Donald Trump return to power.
Sanders' quest proved to be second-time unlucky after 2016 when he lost the nomination race to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. In an interview with the Associated Press, Sanders said "it's probably a very fair assumption" that he would not join yet another run for the White House.
"One can't predict the future," he said with a laugh. Sanders, who suffered a heart attack during his latest campaign, will be 82 when the 2024 election comes.
Sanders, who remained in the race for a long time despite forecasts that it was a losing battle and eventually dropped out last week saying the victory was looking distant, spoke during the interview about his decision to endorse Biden, his own political future and the need to unify the Democratic Party.
"What would be the sense of staying in, of spending a whole lot of money, of attacking the vice president, giving fodder for Trump — what’s the sense of doing that when you can't win?” he said about his own withdrawal from the race.
Sanders distances himself from former press secretary
The veteran socialist leader was not in alignment with his own supporters who have expressed frustration over Biden getting closest to the nomination.
According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll that was released in late March, 15 percent of Sanders' supporters said they would vote for Trump if Biden was chosen as the Democratic nominee.
Even the former national press secretary of Sanders' campaign, Briahna Joy Gray, refused to endorse Biden and the Vermont senator decided to distance himself from her.
"She is my former press secretary, not on the payroll," he said. A spokesperson later said that the campaign staffers were no longer on the payroll and will not get a severance check next month.
Sanders asked his supporters to either choose from backing Biden actively or allow Trump, who he often refers to as "the most dangerous president in modern American history", to get re-elected.
"I believe that it's irresponsible for anybody to say, 'Well, I disagree with Joe Biden and therefore I'm not going to be involved," he said. Sanders said he would not take part in active campaigning or spend money on advertising in the primary contests that are lined up in the months to come.
He, however, encouraged the Democrats to vote for him so that he can add to his delegate count to gain leverage to influence the party platform. He also vowed to work for his signature Medicare for All project in the capacity of a senator.
"If people want to vote for me, we'd appreciate it," Sanders said of almost 20 primary contests that remain where his name will appear on the ballot.
Sanders did not speak about a specific plan to help Biden though he said that he held dozens of rallies for Hillary four years ago and promised to be as active this time as well. On Tuesday, former president Barack Obama also endorsed Biden, his former deputy at the White House, in a video.
Biden so far has 1,288 delegates as against Sanders' 942. To win the nomination, a candidate has to have the backing of 1,991 delegates.