Bernie Sanders praised Kamala Harris as the choice of Joe Biden for his running mate on Sunday, as the Democratic Party tried to project an image of unity ahead of this week’s national convention, where Biden is set to be officially nominated to become the party’s presidential candidate.
Sanders, the Vermont progressive senator who happened to be with Biden and Harris earlier this year when they all raged for their party’s presidential nomination to run for Donald Trump in the November general election, praised Harris as “an asset”.
“I believe that Kamala, as someone who has known her for a number of years, is incredibly smart, tough, and I would not want a vice president. [Mike] Pence in a debate with her, “Sanders said in an appearance on ABC’s political talk show This Week.
“I think she’s an asset to the Biden campaign and I think she’s going to do great on the campaign track.”
The Democratic National Convention (DNC), and its Republican counterpart (RNC), are traditionally two of the highest-profile districts of the U.S. election cycle – a mix of political affairs, theater and party, in both senses of the word.
Tens of thousands of people normally attend the week-long events. Party delegates from across the country gather in a city to hold meetings and events. They fill a large arena to say something proud about their state and cheer wildly for the candidate of the party for president, who gets the nomination here officially.
During the convention, politicians and / or celebrities give speeches in support of the party’s candidate, who delivers a scathing speech to unpack it all.
This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the DNC will be completely different. Almost all aspects have been moved online.
Billie Eilish and John Legend are among the artists of fame, and keynote speakers will include presidential nominees, Joe Biden, his running mate, Kamala Harris, political power linking the Obama and Clinton, and progressive superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Sanders, the last remaining candidate before Biden secured enough votes to win the nomination during the primary campaign, has previously been vocal in his criticism of his modern rivals, and attacks on her views on universal health care in particular.
Sanders’ former press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, tweeted that the choice of the Democrats by Harris, a senator in California and the former attorney general of the state, whom she called a “top cop”, left contempt for the base of the party at a time of renewed anti-police protests in the US.
Sanders, however, said the party was united in its goal. “Of course there can be similarities, many of my supporters are not enthusiastic about Joe Biden,” he said.
“But I think there’s an overwhelming notion that Donald Trump needs to be defeated, Biden needs to be elected, and the day after he is elected we will do everything we can to create a government that works for all of us. . “
Cory Booker, Democratic senator for New Jersey and another former candidate for the nomination, defended Harris, who is biracial and identifies as Black, against recent attacks by Trump that she “extremely disgusting”, “a terrible woman” and “mean. ‘”.
“The words the president has used reflect the destructive, destructive language he uses about blacks,” he said on Sunday.
“Donald Trump can choose a fight if he wants to, but he’s the proverbial bull on the playground who’s about to strike out when he steps up against this dynamic duo that will strike him in November.”
The convention comes as Trump faces rising criticism of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 170,000 people and infected more than 5.3 million people, according to Johns Hopkins – more than any other country in the world.
In recent days, Trump has also been under fire for attacking the U.S. Postal Service and sending in mail, both of which will be essential to minimizing the risk to voters in the November election.
Sanders told NBC’s Meet the Press that Congress had to act hard to tackle the issue.
“This is again not a debate about the Postal Service alone,” Sanders said. ‘That’s important. This is about the future of American democracy and whether people have the right to participate. “
“This is a crisis for American democracy,” Sanders added. “We have to trade and trade now.”
Opinion polls show that American voters seem to approve of Biden’s choice of Harris. A new ABC News / Washington Post poll released on Sunday found that 54% of respondents were in favor, while only 29% rejected. Among Black voters approved 78%.
An NBC / Wall Street Journal poll, meanwhile, shows that Biden maintains a large lead over Trump nationwide. The results showed 50% of voters approved of Biden with 41% for the Republican commitment.
Biden and Harris will formally accept their party’s nomination this week at the culmination of the four-day convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event, which begins Monday, was planned as a jamboree with delegates from each state, but was massively scaled down to a most virtual meeting by the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican National Convention will take place next week.
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