Bernie Sanders won’t run for president and will endorse Biden for reelection
Cami Mondeaux
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) won’t run for president in 2024, signaling that the 81-year-old senator will never again seek the White House after two failed presidential bids over the last decade.
Instead, the liberal senator will endorse President Joe Biden, who announced his reelection bid on Tuesday morning. It’s not yet clear whether Sanders plans to run for reelection in the Senate when his term expires next year.
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Sanders said he would do “what I can” to ensure that Biden is reelected, echoing similar comments he made when he dropped out of consideration for the Democratic nomination in 2020. At the time, Sanders was considered to be one of Biden’s top rivals but ultimately decided to forgo the nomination to ensure a victory against then-President Donald Trump — a strategy he seems to be taking up once again.
“The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman’s right to choose, or not address the crisis of gun violence, or racism, sexism or homophobia,” Sanders told the Associated Press. “So, I’m in to do what I can to make sure that the president is reelected.”
Sanders had remained tight-lipped on whether he planned to run for president once again but told the outlet on Tuesday he would not do so. As a leader of the progressive wing, Sanders also encouraged other high-profile lawmakers not to challenge Biden for the nomination, indicating all corners of the party will back Biden’s reelection despite low enthusiasm about his candidacy.
“I think Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee,” Sanders said. “And my job, and I think the progressive movement’s job, is to make certain that he stands up and fights for the working class of this country and does not take anything for granted.”
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Sanders first sought the White House in 2016, initially running as a Democrat before losing to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Sanders was then in a position to win the presidential nomination amid a crowded field of candidates in 2020 before several of his challengers dropped out to back Biden.
“Running for president was a wonderful privilege,” Sanders said. “I enjoyed it very much and I hope we had some impact on the nature of American politics. But right now, my job is to do what I can as chairman of the (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) committee, to see Biden gets reelected and to see what I can do to help transform policy in America to help protect the needs of workers.”