A leaked memo from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reveals the socialist is interested in another presidential bid.
After losing in two Democrat primaries, one in 2016 to Hillary Clinton and another in 2020 to Joe Biden, Sanders “has not ruled out another run for president,” a leaked memo to the Washington Post said. The reported author of the missive is Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ advisor and former 2020 campaign manager.
“In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president, so we advise that you answer any questions about 2024 with that in mind,” the memo read.
Sanders, who lost to Clinton during an allegedly “rigged” nomination process and then four years later was defeated because the establishment coalesced around Biden, would apparently like to take another shot at overthrowing the Democrat establishment.
The only man in Sanders’s way is Joe Biden, who has promised to run in 2024. Despite his low approval rating of 33 percent, Biden believes he is the only Democrat who can defeat Donald Trump if the former president also decides to run, two sources have told the Hill. That leaves little room for Sanders to transform the Democrat Party into a socialist fantasy land.
Unlike the establishment in the Republican Party, which was overthrown by Donald Trump and remade in the image of American First, establishment Democrats still control the Democrat Party. The Biden administration, along with the administrative state, is largely run by former Obama and Hillary staffers.
Sanders has had chances to defeat the establishment. After Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) handed South Carolina to Biden in 2020, of which it appears Clyburn has received his repayment, Sanders conceded to Biden and negotiated a deal that benefited the nominee at the Democrat National Convention in lieu of unity. Sanders soon found himself back in the Senate, chairing the powerful Senate Budget Committee, with the blessing of establishment Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
As chairman, Sanders has supported Biden’s costly spending packages that have fueled the president’s 40-year-high inflation. The leaked memo to the Post indicates Sanders’s further cooperation with the establishment.
“Sen. Sanders is focused on helping Joe Biden have a successful presidency. As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, no one fought harder for the president’s policy agenda than Bernie,” the memo reads. “He traveled to Republican Congressional Districts last summer to promote Build Back Better. Unfortunately, that legislation was stopped by corporate Democrats.”
Polling reflects voters’ concerns about Biden’s health. Fifty-eight percent of Americans believe Biden should receive a cognitive test. Less than 25 percent of voters strongly believe Biden is stable. Fifty-four percent of adults think Biden is not mentally sound enough to serve as president. And just 29 percent of Americans believe Biden will pursue a second term in 2024.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.