Sen. Bernie Sanders sidestepped a question asking if he would replace President Joe Biden in the 2024 election if the president withdrew his candidacy.
Public concern over the president’s health has grown recently after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27. An interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, during which Biden dismissed his performance as a “bad episode” and said he remained determined to stay in the race, failed to do much to quell those anxieties.
On CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday, Robert Costa asked Sanders if he would be willing to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination if Biden “ever decided to withdraw from the race.”
“Right now I am running for reelection to the great state of Vermont as their senator,” Sanders said. “That’s where my focus is right now.”
However, Sanders said that Biden “can clearly defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country.”
Biden, 81, is the oldest US President to ever hold office. Sanders, 82, acknowledged Biden’s age as difficult for the president moving forward.
“Biden is old. He’s not as articulate as he once was,” Sanders told CBS. “I wish he could jump up the steps on Air Force One. He can’t.”
On Friday, Dem. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia reportedly organized a group of colleagues in the legislature to ask Biden to drop out of the race. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday.
When asked if he received an invite to the discussion, Sanders indicated that he did not and had no plans to attend. Sanders also described Waner as “one of the more conservative members” of the Democratic caucus.
“Look, I understand. Biden had a terrible debate performance. I think he’s done better since, he’s got to do better again.”
Despite Sanders’ one-year age gap over Biden, questions about a potential candidacy for the Vermont senator are not completely out of left field.
Sanders, a Democratic socialist, ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016 and 2020.
In 2022, the senator’s 2020 campaign manager wrote in a memo that Sanders would consider another run if Biden did not seek reelection.
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