Speaking during an interview that aired on Sunday, August 10, on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, far-left Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) finally addressed the rumors that he might run for president again in the 2028 presidential election cycle, describing what concerns he has with the idea when speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash about it.
As a reminder, Sanders is a longtime senator who gained much notoriety when he ran for president in 2016 and almost won the Democratic nomination, with many of his supporters thinking he got unfairly nixed as the candidate by the DNC as an organization, as it threw the vast majority of the “superdelegate” votes to Clinton to help her win.
He then ran again in 2020, though his effort was somewhat more muted and he dropped out after Biden won South Carolina and a string of Super Tuesday victories that many saw as Biden gaining momentum from the South Carolina victory. He then did not run in the 2024 election, disappointing many of his supporters.
Now, many on the left have rumored and hoped that Sen. Sanders will throw his hat in the ring once again and try to defeat whatever awful candidate the DNC tosses up, which many think could be Kamala Harris or Pete Buttigieg. Bernie, however, told Dana Bash that his age has gotten so advanced that he thinks running again would be a bad decision.
Such is what Sen. Sanders said when Dana Bash directly asked him about the rumors and whether he might decide to run. She asked, “I’ve watched you for a very, very long time. You’re obviously still full of vigor and intensity for the things that you’re passionate about and have been for decades. Is there another presidential run in you?”
Responding to the CNN host and her gushing comments about him, Sen. Sanders said, commenting on his advanced age and implying that it was too advanced for him to manage another presidential campaign, “Let’s not worry about that. I am going to be 84 years of age next month, as a matter of fact. I think that speaks for itself.”
Continuing, Sen. Sanders added that, as he sees it “what is more important” giving “working-class people an agenda” by educating them on economic issues. Adding to that, he insisted that the point of such an education campaign is teaching Americans that “we can, in fact, provide a decent standard of living for all our people.”
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Then, Bash asked Bernie who would pick up the mantle of leadership as he steps away. Particularly, she noted that such a leader will be needed, as even a “very hungry, energized base with an idea of what they want” will make next to no difference in American politics unless they have a strong leader who can guide them to victory.
Responding, Bernie was largely non-committal. While he agreed that a leader of the movement is quite needed, he thinks that a “strong grassroots movements will bring forth the appropriate leadership” for those who want to keep pushing an economic agenda of the sort he has long demanded.
However, when asked about who might be pushed toward leadership by such a grassroots movement, Bernie was unwilling to name any specific political figure or person generally who could pick up what Bash called “the Bernie Sanders mantle” and lead the economic “justice” movement.
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video