Senator Bernie Sanders said in an interview with Democratic congresswomen that progressives must work to ensure Joe Biden becomes the most progressive president in decades, emphasizing that “we are not giving up on our agenda.”
“We understand that electing Biden is not the end all, it is the beginning,” Sanders said in an interview with the four freshman progressive congresswomen known as the “Squad,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar.
“Our first task, we’ve got to defeat the worst president in the modern history of this country and number two, we organize our people to make sure that Biden becomes the most progressive president since FDR,” the independent senator from Vermont continued.
Some people ask what an old Jewish white guy has in common with young women of color like @AOC, @AyannaPressley, @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib.
We understand each other. We come from working class backgrounds. And we’re going to go forward together. pic.twitter.com/bANr9KbkmA
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 31, 2020
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, applauded the congresswomen and said that their work pushing for the Democratic Party to embrace more progressive policies is evident in the evolution of Biden’s platform.
“I think as a result of the work that all of you have done, Biden’s proposals in this campaign are a lot stronger than they were in the primary,” Sanders said. “Do they go as far as we would want? No they don’t.”
Sanders cited Biden’s health care plan, saying that while Biden’s proposals are a step in the right direction, the “only way” every individual will ultimately have access to quality, affordable health care is through Medicare for All.
Sanders vowed that progressives in Congress would also continue to advance their agenda on criminal justice, immigration, and the multi-trillion dollar Green New Deal because “we’re have got to be bolder than ever before in tackling climate change.”
He also took a shot at President Trump during the interview, saying that unlike the president, Biden “does not conceive of himself as a dictator.”
Sanders was the runner up in the last two Democratic presidential primaries, losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and again to Biden earlier this year. He is rumored to have expressed interest in the position of Secretary of Labor in a future Biden cabinet.
