Sanders steps aside to give Joe Biden a clear run to take on Donald Trump
Leading left-wing candidate Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the race to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Former VP Joe Biden now has a clear run to take on Donald Trump.
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Far left candidate Bernie Sanders has withdrawn from the 2020 Democratic presidential race, all but guaranteeing former Vice President Joe Biden will square off against President Donald Trump in November.
In announcing his decision to stand down from the contest, Mr Sanders acknowledged it was almost impossible for him to win the nomination coming from so far behind.
But he also said he decided not to push on to the last minute of the battle against Mr Biden so that he could instead help the US rebuild in the face of the coronavirus meltdown. Instead, he will devote his time to working in Congress to ensure appropriate relief and aid is available to Americans.
The move comes as Mr Biden has built a clear delegate lead over Mr Sanders, even as the primary season has been throw into disarray by the coronavirus outbreak.
“The path toward victory is virtually impossible,” Mr Sanders told supporters as he congratulated Mr Biden, while thanking an “unprecedented grassroots political campaign” that relied entirely on small donations from millions of his backers.
He spoke of a “difficult and painful” decision, in his video message. “The former vice president is “a very decent man whom I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward”, he added.
In a statement, Mr Biden - who has committed to selecting a woman as his running mate - heaped praise on Sanders for drawing attention to injustices and inequalities and for creating a movement based on ideas.
“Senator Sanders and his supporters have changed the dialogue in America,” Mr Biden said.
He also vowed to listen to Mr Sanders’ supporters, and urged them to support his campaign. “I hope you will join us. You are more than welcome. You’re needed,” Mr Biden said.
But President Donald Trump made his own bold pitch to Senator Sanders’ youthful band of supporters, saying they should come and support him.
In a trio of tweets, Trump repeated his claim that the Democratic Party had done wrong by Sanders and his legion of fervent supporters, and accused former candidate Elizabeth Warren of costing him victory.
“Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday!” Mr Trump wrote to his 76 million followers.
Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed that Senator Sanders, 78 — a party outsider much like the president — was being victimised by the same Democratic establishment that tried to derail his bid against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!” Trump wrote.
Senator Sanders said “an honest assessment of the prospects of victory” over the past few weeks showed there was no way he could win the nomination.
“I do not make this decision lightly, in fact it has been a very difficult and painful decision,” he said.
“If I believed that we had a path to the nomination, I would certainly continue the campaign. But it’s just not there.”
He said he understood some of his supporters “would like us to fight for the last ballot cast at the Democratic convention” but that due to “the crisis gripping the nation”, he needed to offer unity.
“I cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult battle,” he said.
“I wish I could give you better news, but the path towards victory is virtually impossible.”
It comes after Mr Sanders had been an early favourite and frontrunner in the Democratic race after Mr Biden stumbled in early primary contests.
But Mr Biden got his campaign back on track with a stunning win in South Carolina that put him on track to dominate multiple contests through March before COVID-19 saw campaigning suspended.
Disappointing results in primary races and the growing uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic had heaped pressure on Senator Sanders to quit the race.
Originally published as Sanders steps aside to give Joe Biden a clear run to take on Donald Trump