Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) did not provide a direct answer when asked if Pennsylvania Democrats are hurting Vice President Kamala Harris’s electability in the state.
Sanders was asked about a new ad from Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) that shows the Pennsylvania Democrat boasting about how he “bucked Biden to protect fracking” and sided with Trump over placing tariffs on China “to stop them from cheating.” The release of the ad comes as former President Donald Trump seeks the White House again and Casey is seeking reelection against Republican challenger Dave McCormick in the 2024 elections.
“Well, what I think is that at a time when we have more income and wealth inequality in this country than we’ve ever had, when we have a healthcare system, which allows us to be the only major country on Earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people, when we have a $7.25 minimum wage, when you got so many senior citizens need to see an increase in their Social Security, I personally think that the winning issues are taking on corporate greed Bob Casey is talking about,” Sanders said on CNN’s State of the Union. “And fighting for the working class against the people on top, who have never, ever had it so good. That would be my suggestion.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper then asked Sanders about the about-face that Harris has made on various topics ahead of the election, including no longer wanting to ban fracking and no longer supporting the Green New Deal. Sanders contended that Harris’s reversal is part of “a coalition of people” working together to achieve a common goal, that being defeating the “very dangerous candidate” of Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Sanders was then asked about any concern the Democratic Party has over Harris’s support from Arab-Americans in Michigan, specifically if President Joe Biden’s support for Israel amid its conflict with the Hamas terrorist group could deter support from this voting bloc in the swing state. In response, Sanders argued that Hamas is “a terrible terrorist organization” that Israel is entitled to defend itself against, while arguing that Israel does not have a right “to go to war against the entire Palestinian people.”
“And I will be leading the effort to make sure that we do not provide more offensive military aid to Israel,” Sanders said. “But to those people who say, ‘Well, I can‘t support Harris because she disagrees,’ Trump on that issue, even on that issue, is worse. He will be closer to Netanyahu.”
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In addition to Pennsylvania, Michigan is another major swing state both Harris and Trump are seeking to win the respective Electoral College votes in this election cycle. During a rally in Michigan on Friday, the former president claimed “Democrats have been wreaking havoc” in Detroit, prompting him to promise to give the city “the real comeback” it needs.
Polling data from RealClearPolitics has indicated that Trump is narrowly leading Harris in Michigan since mid-October, marking the first time since late July that Trump is favored to win the state. Trump was largely beating President Joe Biden in polling before he dropped his reelection bid, with Harris leading the state shortly after she launched her presidential run.