Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden said Friday that he would support any Democrat who wins the nomination, even if that candidate is top rival and progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“You’ve been saying the party has to unify to defeat Trump. Does that mean if Bernie Sanders does win the nomination, you’ll endorse him and campaign for him?” George Stephanopoulos asked Biden on “Good Morning America.”
“Yes, whomever wins the nomination, I’m going to endorse,” the former vice president responded.
The remarks come a day after Biden hit out at Sanders, saying he’s not a member of the Democratic Party. Sanders describes himself as a democratic socialist and represents Vermont as an Independent.
According to The New York Times, Biden emphasized that he was a Democrat in response to a question about how he would differentiate himself from his top rivals. Asked to elaborate, the former vice president drew a sharp contrast between himself and Sanders, saying, “I’m a Democrat and he says he’s not.”
Biden clarified these remarks in his interview with “Good Morning America,” emphasizing that the issue was who was best prepared to unite the party.
“Bernie is a Democrat. He calls himself a democratic socialist. We have a different view on a whole lot of things. He’s a decent guy. I don’t think he shouldn’t be running,” Biden told Stephanopoulos in Friday’s interview. “The question is whether or not who’s best prepared on day one to try to reunite this party and the country as well as stand on the world stage and reassert our role in the world.”
The former vice president has previously promised to support whoever becomes the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, vowing to “work like hell” to help any of his primary rivals defeat President Trump in November’s election.
However, Biden and Sanders have been engaged in a weeks-long feud on a number of issues, including Social Security and Biden’s Iraq War vote over a decade ago.
Biden, a moderate, has argued that he is best aligned to appeal to voters in key swing states, while Sanders has maintained that a progressive is best suited to energize the liberal base.
Several polls show the two rivals locked in a tight race in Monday’s Iowa caucuses. According to the RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls, Sanders leads Biden by almost 4 percentage points with 23.8 percent support. Warren trails both candidates with 15.8 percent support.