Bernie Sanders declares support for Biden's re-election, rules out 2024 presidential run

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he would not run for president in the 2024 election cycle and would instead support President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, stating his commitment to ensuring the president's re-election.

On Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders told the Associated Press that he would not seek the presidency in the 2024 election cycle, pledging his support for President Joe Biden's re-election effort.

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, had previously run as a candidate in the Democratic Party's presidential primaries in 2016 and 2020, challenging Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

Sanders publicly ruled out a third consecutive run just hours after Biden formally announced his re-election campaign.

Expressing gratitude for his past presidential campaigns, Sanders stated, "Running for president was a wonderful privilege. I enjoyed it very much, and I hope we had some impact on the nature of American politics. But right now, my job is to do what I can as chairman of the (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) committee, to see Biden get reelected and to see what I can do to help transform policy in America to help protect the needs of workers."

Currently, Biden faces declared candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and self-help author Marianne Williamson, both of whom have criticized the lack of planned debates and the Democratic National Committee's decision to alter the nominating state schedule.

Despite these challenges, Sanders believes that Biden will secure the Democratic nomination and that the progressive movement's role is to ensure he champions the working class.

If Biden were to serve a second term, he would be 86 years old at its conclusion, making him the oldest person to hold the presidency. Sanders, who is currently 81, experienced a heart attack during his last presidential run.

A recent poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that only 26% of Americans and 47% of Democrats want Biden to run for re-election, while 78% of Democrats approve of his job performance, and 81% would likely support him as the nominee in the general election.

On the Republican side, 76-year-old former President Donald Trump is seeking re-election and leads GOP primary polls by significant margins.

Sanders warned that re-electing Trump or any other right-wing demagogue would be detrimental to the United States, stating, “The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman’s right to choose, or not address the crisis of gun violence, or racism, sexism or homophobia.”