Sanders shoots down suggestion that his support for Biden is out of fear

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday defended his endorsement of President Biden and pushed back against criticism from third-party progressive candidate Cornel West, who claimed the senator was supporting Biden because he’s “fearful of neo-fascism of Trump.”

“Where I disagree with my good friend of Cornel West is, I think in these really, very difficult times where there is a real question whether democracy is going to remain in the United States of America,” Sanders said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked about West’s remarks.

“You know, Donald Trump is not somebody who believes in democracy,” Sanders continued. “Whether women are going to be able to continue to control their own bodies, whether we have social justice in America, we end bigotry — around that, I think, we have got to bring the entire progressive community to defeat Trump or whoever the Republican nominee will be. 

Sanders, an independent senator, said it’s important still to call on Biden and the entire Democratic Party to hold progressive policy positions and to stand up to corporate greed — a policy position also held by West. 

“Support Biden, but at the same time, which is what I did yesterday, is demand that the Democratic Party, not just Biden, have the guts to take on corporate greed and the massive levels of income and wealth inequality that we see today,” he continued. 

West, a progressive academic and activist, launched a third-party campaign for president in 2024. His poll numbers have not posed any significant threat to Biden’s reelection campaign, however, and many progressives have still stood behind Biden, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).