Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Americas

    Sanders exit comes with health irony

    By WILLIAM HENNELLY in New York | CHINA DAILY/REUTERS | Updated: 2020-04-10 08:58
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Democratic US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks about coronavirus in Burlington, Vermont, US, March 12, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

    Champion of free cover concedes to Biden, deemed a safer Democrat pick

    The withdrawal of Bernie Sanders from the Democratic presidential primary campaign came, ironically, amid a medical crisis in the United States.

    Sanders, 78, a US senator from Vermont, is a staunch advocate of free health care for everyone in the country, known as Medicare for All.

    But even as the coronavirus pandemic courses through the country, most severely in his native state of New York, Sanders realized he was unable to overcome the pragmatism of Democratic voters and their reluctance to nominate a self-proclaimed democratic socialist.

    Voters balked at moving as far to the left as the exchanges at the numerous Democratic debates would suggest and ultimately decided that Joe Biden was best suited to meet their overriding objective in a general election: defeating President Donald Trump.

    That means that Biden, 77, former vice-president during the two-term administration of Barack Obama, will face Trump in November. That is, provided the election takes place as planned with COVID-19 sending all parts of the economy asunder, including the states' primary election schedules. Already there has been political bickering over whether voting will take place in person or via mail.

    The primaries are mostly irrelevant now, as Biden will head uncontested into the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which has been rescheduled from mid-July to Aug 17-20 due to the outbreak.

    Biden, who has routinely emphasized his ties to Obama, is banking on that nostalgia for the nation's first African-American president, who has yet to endorse him. Biden also managed to avert disaster despite subpar showings in the first few primaries and caucuses, as he made frequent verbal blunders.

    For Sanders, it was the second time in four years he had to concede to the eventual nominee after a spirited campaign. In 2016, Sanders stayed late at the party before eventually losing to Hillary Clinton, who had more influential backers and institutional support.

    "I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win, and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour," Sanders said in a livestreamed speech on Wednesday to supporters from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.

    Sanders called it a "difficult and painful decision" but said he would stay on the ballot in future primaries and continue to gather delegates in order to push the Democratic platform toward his populist anti-corporate agenda, including a government-run health care system and tax hikes for the rich.

    The New York Times, citing three sources, reported that the Biden campaign was expected to announce some policy agreements with Sanders on health care and other issues, possibly on student loans, beginning on Thursday.

    The Democratic Party of 2020 also has been clamoring for more representation from women and people of color. Biden has said he would choose a woman as his running mate.

    Ready for election fight

    On Wednesday, Biden signaled that he was ready for a bruising general election fight and the challenge he faces in trying to unite the party's liberal and moderate wings.

    Trump, who has courted Sanders' supporters and said the senator was treated unfairly by the Democratic Party establishment, reacted quickly on Twitter.

    "This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!" Trump wrote.

    Both Biden and Trump already have clashed on the approach to addressing the coronavirus pandemic, which will naturally become a major issue, possibly the only issue, in the fall campaign. Earlier this week, however, both men reportedly had a "warm" conversation on the issue.

    Trump had been banking on the strength of the job market, the stock market and the overall economy for his re-election campaign. While the pandemic has led to massive job losses with the economy mostly at a standstill, the stock market is gradually climbing back.

    Reuters contributed to this story.

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    无码精品人妻一区二区三区人妻斩 | 中文字幕夜色资源网站| 麻豆亚洲AV永久无码精品久久| 亚洲一区精品中文字幕| 日韩人妻无码精品无码中文字幕 | 亚洲av无码一区二区乱子伦as| 久久精品中文无码资源站 | AV色欲无码人妻中文字幕| 久久久久亚洲Av无码专| 日韩精品无码免费专区午夜不卡| 久久久久成人精品无码中文字幕| 无码精品人妻一区| 高清无码视频直接看| 无码人妻AV一二区二区三区| 高潮潮喷奶水飞溅视频无码| 亚洲国产人成中文幕一级二级 | 天堂√在线中文资源网| 亚洲精品无码专区在线播放 | 伊人久久无码精品中文字幕| 国产激情无码一区二区app| 日韩精品无码专区免费播放| 无码精品日韩中文字幕| 亚洲AV永久无码区成人网站 | 亚洲AV永久无码精品水牛影视| 亚洲日韩在线中文字幕综合| 欧美日韩中文字幕久久久不卡 | 中文无码熟妇人妻AV在线| 最近2019年中文字幕6| 最近新中文字幕大全高清| 最近中文字幕高清字幕在线视频| 欧美激情中文字幕综合一区| 91中文字幕在线| 最近2019年免费中文字幕高清| 中文字幕一二区| 高清无码中文字幕在线观看视频| 日韩成人无码中文字幕| 一区二区三区无码视频免费福利| 亚洲人成无码网站| 久久av无码专区亚洲av桃花岛| 2021无码最新国产在线观看| 久久青青草原亚洲av无码|