Bernie Sanders: 'The Day After Biden's Elected, We're Going to Have a Serious Debate'

By Max Greenwood, The Hill

21 August 20

en. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to electing Joe Biden president, but said the Democratic nominee’s victory in November would be followed by a “serious debate” about the direction of the country.

“We’re going to come together to defeat Trump,” Sanders told "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah on Friday. “And the day after Biden is elected, we’re going to have a serious debate about the future of this country, but it will be done within the framework of a democratic society.”

The Vermont senator’s remarks presage a coming push by progressives to wield more influence in the Democratic Party and within a potential Biden administration.

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, posed the greatest challenge to Biden during the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating contest, amassing a series of early primary wins before eventually falling behind Biden in the delegate count and suspending his campaign in early April.

He endorsed Biden soon after ending his campaign and has since sought to boost the former vice president among progressive voters who may be reluctant to cast their ballots for a more moderate Democrat.

Sanders acknowledged his differences with Biden on Friday. But he said that unity among competing political factions — progressives, moderates and even conservatives — is necessary to stave off President Trump’s reelection. 

“What you’re seeing now is what I would call a united front of people of many different points of view,” Sanders told Noah. “You have some honest conservatives who are saying 'you know what, I’m a conservative, but we gotta get rid of this guy because he is just not what America is supposed to be about.' And you’re working with progressives. So this is what coalition politics is about.”