Sanders saw Harris as Biden’s best pick: report

August 19, 2020 3oliver

Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Memo: Democrats pitch Biden as the back-to-normal candidate Obama congratulates Biden on formal nomination Ocasio-Cortez seconds Sanders nomination at convention MORE (I-Vt.) believed the strongest choice for former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenThe Memo: Democrats pitch Biden as the back-to-normal candidate Obama congratulates Biden on formal nomination Jill Biden gives personal portrait of husband Joe MORE’s running mate would be Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala HarrisSusan Rice: Trump ‘is a liar and the whole world knows it’ Biden compares relationship with Harris to one with Obama: We trust each other Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report MORE (D-Calif.), his eventual choice, Bloomberg reported.

Although his Senate colleague was not the contender whose views most closely matched his own, Sanders reportedly believed she would be the choice who best positioned the ticket to defeat President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Memo: Democrats pitch Biden as the back-to-normal candidate Obama congratulates Biden on formal nomination Jill Biden gives personal portrait of husband Joe MORE.

Sanders endorsed Biden soon after withdrawing from the race, and the Vermont senator has frequently appealed to his supporters to help elect the former vice president and hold him accountable from the left.

Biden’s and Sanders’s teams collaborated on six policy task forces that helped shape the party platform, although two of Sanders’s signature proposals, the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All,” did not make the cut.

While Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that his wing of the party “surely did not” get all of their agenda items, he hailed the possibilities of a Biden administration if it implemented the proposals.

“Joe Biden will become the most progressive president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And that, in this moment, is what we need,” he said Sunday.

Sanders also addressed the virtual Democratic National Convention Monday, striking a note of unity similar to other headliners.

“As long as I am here, I will work with progressives, with moderates and, yes, with conservatives to preserve this nation from a threat that so many of our heroes fought and died to defeat,” he said.

Sanders has emphasized the need for unity among some dissatisfaction from his supporters. Two of his onetime campaign surrogates, Reps. Rashida TlaibRashida Harbi TlaibDemocrats’ platform is built with a lot of ‘We hate Trump’ planks Sanders saw Harris as Biden’s best pick: report Five things to know on the Democratic platform MORE (D-Mich.) and Ro KhannaRohit (Ro) KhannaDemocrats’ platform is built with a lot of ‘We hate Trump’ planks Sanders saw Harris as Biden’s best pick: report Five things to know on the Democratic platform MORE (D-Calif.), voted against the party platform.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezThe Memo: Democrats pitch Biden as the back-to-normal candidate Ocasio-Cortez seconds Sanders nomination at convention Democrats officially nominate Biden for president MORE (D-N.Y.), who helped develop the task force recommendations, has endorsed the ticket but criticized the notion that convention speaker and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) should play a role in determining the future of the Democratic Party.