Bernie Sanders Says His Supporters Will Support Joe Biden, Despite Concerns

Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has said his campaign supporters will vote for likely Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the general election. Former Sanders adviser Jeff Weaver has raised concerns that Sanders supporters are “currently unsupportive and unenthusiastic” about Biden in a campaign memo released last week.

“I think, at the end of the day, the vast majority of the people who voted for me who supported me will understand and do understand that Donald Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country, he is a pathological liar, he’s a racist and a sexist, a homophobe, etcetera,” Sanders told ABC News’ “This Week” program on Sunday.

The Vermont senator said Biden will need to reach out to marginalized groups in society to win them over. He said Biden should focus on topics such as student debt relief, health insurance coverage, climate change and criminal justice.

“But I think what Joe is gonna have to do – and he’s beginning to move in that direction – is to say to those working-class people, say to those young people, say to those minorities, ‘Listen, I understand your situation’,” he added.

Yet, many staunch Sanders supporters have refused to vote for Biden in the November election. Former Sanders press secretary Briahna Joy Gray said she would not vote for the former vice president due to sexual assault allegations and “lying” about his civil rights record. Kyle Kulinski, a popular pro-Sanders YouTuber and founder of the progressive Justice Democrats political action committee, has said he would only vote for Biden if he chooses Sanders or Sanders’ national campaign co-chair Nina Turner as his vice-presidential running mate.

Data from the 2016 election reveals that more than 1 in 10 Sanders supporters voted for Trump during the general election. Some of Sanders supporters' said they agreed with Trump’s populist leanings and his support for fair trade policies, while others were not satisfied with then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Biden has been forced to call off traditional campaign rallies amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, and has instead used digital events to promote his presidential bid. Trump has used frequent White House press briefings to promote his response to the virus, and has attacked Biden in numerous tweets.