Sanders: It Would Be 'Irresponsible' To Not Back Biden

After ending his campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced on Monday that he was endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden. Since then, Sanders has warned his staunchest supporters that it would be foolhardy for them to “sit on their hands” and refuse to vote for Biden in November.

During an interview with CBS News, Sanders sought to make it abundantly clear that he completely supports Biden’s candidacy and asked his supporters to do the same. He warned that not doing so could effectively grant President Donald Trump a second term.

“Do we be as active as we can in electing Joe Biden and doing everything we can to move Joe and his campaign in a more progressive direction? Or do we choose to sit it out and allow the most dangerous president in modern American history to get reelected?” Sanders said.

“I believe that it's irresponsible for anybody to say, 'Well, I disagree with Joe Biden, I disagree with Joe Biden and therefore I'm not going to be involved,’” the senator added.

Although Sanders said that he has fully suspended his campaign, he said his supporters should still consider casting their votes for him in the primary. He explained that the more pledged delegates he has going into the Democratic National Convention, the greater his ability will be to push Biden to adopt a more progressive platform.

“If people want to vote for me, we'd appreciate it,” Sanders said.

Even still, Sanders said that he will “do everything I can to help elect Joe” and come November, asked that his supporters do the same.

“But my job now is to not only rally my supporters, but to do everything I can to bring the party together to see that [Trump] is not elected president,” Sanders said.

Sanders was asked about his former campaign press manager, Briahna Joy Gray, who has come out with her refusal to endorse Biden. While Sanders didn’t offer much in the way of thoughts on Gray’s position, Sanders pointed out that she, like the rest of his staff, is no longer on the campaign payroll.

In addition to Sanders, Biden has gained several other key endorsements this week. On Tuesday, former President Barack Obama threw his support behind his former vice president and, on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., did the same.