Biden And Sanders Join Forces To Unite The Democratic Party And Defeat Trump
Recently dropped out presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, endorsed former rival Joe Biden during a streamed event on Monday.
“We need you in the White House. I will do all that I can to see that that happens, Joe,” Sanders said to Biden during the democratic front-runner’s virtual event on the coronavirus.
“Today, I am asking all Americans — I’m asking every Democrat, I’m asking every independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans — to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse,” Sanders added.
The endorsement came less than a week after Sanders suspended his own campaign, marking an attempt to unify the progressive and moderate factions of the Democratic Party. The move was also meant to quell concerns that the party was too divided and would fail to come together before the general election in November.
It is important to note that Sanders didn’t endorse the 2016 Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, until almost two weeks before the party’s convention in July.
The effects of this endorsement are yet to be seen as Biden, along with other moderate Democrats, has focused on strengthening and expanding the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.
Whereas Sanders and his supporters, who regarded the senator’s presidential campaign as a political revolution, have been skeptical of the democratic establishment, and are vying for progressive measures to be enacted like “Medicare for All.”
Both Biden and Sanders acknowledged the differences in their policies during Monday’s event, but they also highlighted their shared goal of removing President Trump from office on Election Day.
“I think that your endorsement means a great deal. It means a great deal to me. I think people are going to be surprised that we are apart on some issues, but we’re awfully close,” Biden told Sanders. “I’m going to need you, not just to win the campaign, but to govern.”