Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was rather emphatic Wednesday morning that the Democratic Party’s presidential primary race is now a two-person race between himself and former Vice President Joe Biden.
What happened
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Sanders delivered a speech from his presidential campaign headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, where he discussed what he expects to happen next in the 2020 Democratic primary race.
- On Joe Biden: “I like Joe. I think he’s a very decent human being. Joe and I are running very different campaigns,” Sanders said. “Joe is running a campaign which is obviously heavily supported by the corporate establishment.”
- On debates: Sanders said he hopes the upcoming Democratic debates will allow for hourlong discussions on major topics rather than cross-talk and wasted time over deciding who should speak.
- On Elizabeth Warren: Sanders said he spoke to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren about her presidential campaign, saying she is assessing it and will “make her own decision in her own time.”
- On the Democratic Party: Sanders said the “insiders,” the “corporate world” and the establishment will pick their chosen candidates even if those groups see Sanders is leading the way.
- On Michael Bloomberg: Sanders said he didn’t know former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race until a reporter asked him about it. He said: “I suspect we will see a lot of money coming into Biden’s campaign. Probably a lot of negative ads. That’s what we’re taking on.” He added, “We’re taking on billionaires, now you add Bloomberg to the list. We’re taking on Wall Street. ... We’re taking on the military industrial complex. There has not been a campaign (like this) ... in the history of this country.”
- On Barack Obama: Sanders addressed a new advertisement that showed how close he was to former President Barack Obama. He said Obama has pressure to endorse Biden but he agrees with the idea that Obama should wait until after the Democratic Party has its nominee to make any move.