Bernie Sanders stumps for Biden: ‘He’s going to win’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday touted President Biden’s accomplishments and stressed his confidence in the president’s ability to win reelection, as long as he runs on a strong progressive platform. 

In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Sanders stressed what he saw as the importance of running on a “strong” and “progressive agenda” and said if Democrats do so, it could guarantee that wing of the party will back Biden.

Sanders touted raising Social Security benefits, expanding Medicare and dealing with student debt as areas of priorities for his wing of the party.

“If we come up with a progressive agenda, I think we’re going to win and win big and when we win big, we have to make it clear that we stand with the working class of this country against the kind of corporate greed that we now see,” Sanders said.

On whether Sanders would consider a 2024 presidential run, if, for any reason, Biden decided not to seek or win the nomination, Sanders declined to answer the question directly. 

“Well, I think we spend too much time speculating,” he said in response. “I think President Biden is going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. And I think if he runs on a strong, progressive agenda, he’s not only going to win, he’s going to win by a strong vote, and I’ll tell you why.”

Sanders pointed to the contrast of the two parties’ positions and suggested Republicans are running on unpopular policy positions, as well as running with a lead candidate who faces criminal charges in four different cases.

“Because when you look at a Republican Party, it’s not only that you have a president, a former president, who has been impeached twice, indicted four times. These are people who deny women in this country the right to control their own bodies. Really? Is that where we are in 2023? Not recognizing the reality of climate change, wanting more tax breaks for billionaires, that’s what their agenda is.”

“So I think that in any kind of serious campaign, President Biden and the Democrats will do quite well against that reactionary agenda,” Sanders said.