Bernie Sanders said at a press conference Wednesday that he will not suspend his presidential campaign after a second consecutive week of bruising primary losses to Joe Biden, telling reporters that he looks forward to Sunday's one-on-one debate.
Why it matters: Sanders' path to the nomination narrowed significantly after Biden built up his delegate lead in most of the states that voted Tuesday — including the key prize of Michigan, where Sanders' surprise win over Hillary Clinton in 2016 gave him a needed boost of momentum.
What he's saying: "What became even more apparent yesterday is that while we are currently losing the delegate count — approximately 800 delegates for Joe Biden and 660 for us — we are strongly winning in two enormously important areas which will determine the future of our country," Sanders said.
"Poll after poll, including exit polls, show that a strong majority of the American people support our progressive agenda."
"We are winning the generational debate. While Joe Biden continues to do very well with older Americans, especially those people over 65, our campaign continues to win the vast majority of the votes of younger people."
Between the lines: Sanders could have gone scorched earth on Biden — and he still could at Sunday's debate — but instead he took a more measured tone as part of a clear strategy to pressure Biden to adopt more progressive policies and language.
Sanders said Sunday's debate will show voters which candidate is best positioned to beat Trump — but we’ve seen throughout this cycle how debates don’t really change the standings of the race, and it's especially unlikely to happen this late in the primary.
It's more likely that Sanders will use the debate as a last push to define the policy parameters of the race.
The big picture: Sanders is facing calls to drop out from some prominent members of the Democratic Party who believe it's time to pivot to defeating President Trump in the general election.
maglen69 on March 11st, 2020 at 19:03 UTC »
He should (stay in at least for a debate).
Biden needs to have to face someone one on one before he goes on to Trump.
If he can't handle Sanders, there's NO way he'll be able to handle Trump. He hasn't been the focus of anyone in prior debates.
Edit for a bit of clarity:
I'm not saying Trump is a great debater (he's not). I'm saying that since Bernie and Joe are both liberal minded they have relatively similar belief structure and they should be able to find a lot they can agree on. If Biden performs poorly with someone who largely agrees with him, he won't do well with someone who will try to antagonize him at every opportunity.
giltwist on March 11st, 2020 at 17:29 UTC »
I just watched his campaign statement. I get the feeling that his plan is this:
A) So thoroughly trounce Biden in the debate that March 17 sees a huge swing, or
B) Force policy concessions from Biden during the debate, so that Bernie can bow out gracefully on March 18.
SwissDecaf on March 11st, 2020 at 17:23 UTC »
Why do people think this will help Trump?
Bernie just got done with a presser where he telegraphed the exact set of questions he'll force Biden to answer.
It's an opportunity for Biden to court the Bernie base and unite the party.
If he succeeds, great. If he fails, that shit is on him.
What this debate really helps most of all, is the democratic process.