Liberal Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 82, on Sunday downplayed the public furor over 81-year-old President Biden’s age and implored him to overcome it by focusing on kitchen-table issues.
“President Biden can clearly defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country,” Sanders, an independent, said of the embattled elderly commander in chief on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“Biden is old, he’s not as articulate as he once was,” Sanders acknowledged of the Democratic president. “I wish he could jump up the steps on Air Force One. He can’t. What we have got to focus on is policy.”
At least five House Democrats have already publicly called on Biden to pass the torch, with more privately wanting him to do so as internal party fears over his mental acuity reach a fever pitch.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has attempted to rally his colleagues to nudge Biden to step aside in favor of a more mentally competent presidential candidate, the Washington Post reported. His spokesperson didn’t deny the report.
Sanders, asked about Warner’s efforts, replied, “Mark is one of the more conservative members of the Democratic Caucus.
“No, I have not been invited. No, I will not attend,” he added of any reported meetings involving the ousting of Biden at the head of the Democratic ticket come November.
Sanders admitted that the president’s prime-time TV matchup against GOP presidential foe Donald Trump last month was disastrous.
“Biden had a terrible debate performance,” the senator said. “I know that that is a legitimate concern.”
But he said Biden should be praised in general for standing with the working class.
Sanders ran against Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and was on track to win the nod until Biden’s victory in South Carolina.
Despite their history and progressive infighting, particularly over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, Sanders has backed him and stumped for him on the campaign trail.
Sanders, who is running for a fourth term in the upper chamber, has grappled with questions over his age as well.
But unlike Biden, he has not often been caught on camera mangling his words, freezing up or appearing to lose his train of thought.
Biden is already the oldest US president in history and would be 86 at the conclusion of a second hypothetical term in office.
Sanders rattled off some of the issues he would like to see Biden elevate, such as shoring up Social Security and boosting the child tax credit.
The Vermont Independent juxtaposed Biden with Trump, highlighting how Biden rebuilt the country’s infrastructure, became the first president to walk a picket line and signed legislation to combat climate change.
“He has got to say, ‘I am prepared to take on corporate greed, massive income and wealth inequality and stand with the working class in this country.’ He does that, he’s going to win and win big,” Sanders said.
Biden has accepted responsibility for his debate performance, claiming he was “exhausted” and that he still has what it takes to run the country.
Despite public calls for him to step aside and let someone else be the Democrats’ standard bearer, Biden has been adamant that he’s not going anywhere.
