Dick Van Dyke endorses Sanders for President, urges older voters to back a 'younger' candidate like him

TV legend and comedian Dick Van Dyke gave presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) a glowing endorsement on Friday. Van Dyke, 94, also backed Sanders, 74, in 2016. Van Dyke urged older voters to vote for Sanders.

In a video put out by the campaign for Bernie Sanders, Van Dyke said, “I’m Dick Van Dyke and I’m a very enthusiastic supporter of Bernie Sanders." He continues, “The age question keeps coming up. I know that I’m 20 years older than Bernie. I have all my marbles! I could run for office if I wanted to. So I don’t think age — it really doesn’t matter, except for his experience and the years he’s put in.”

Van Dyke then asked, “Why wouldn’t an older citizen vote for somebody with that kind of a record and with that kind of experience and honesty and trust?" He continued, "It just doesn’t make sense to me that he’s not getting my generation. And I want to urge my generation to get out and vote for him, please."

He continued to say, "Bernie has been consistent with his policies ever since I first met him when he was in the Senate. He never has changed his attack because of pressure from the outside or when he felt the wind was blowing another way."

Van Dyke then said, “He stuck to who he is and what he believes in. So I think somebody younger, like Bernie, is just a perfect candidate.”

At the moment, Sanders has surged ahead in national and state polls following his strong performances during the Iowa and New Hampshire debates. However, polls show the socialist candidate lagging among older voters, especially those over the age of 65.

Social media has been responding enthusiastically following the endorsement. One user tweeted, "This man is endorsed by both Ariana Grande and Dick Van Dyke and you still don’t think he’s the unity candidate," while another said, "I have always loved Dick Van Dyke. I love him even more tonight."