Vermont's Senator Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign to become US president. He was up against Joe Biden for the role of the democratic candidate who would inevitably face Trump in the election. As Senator Sanders has now dropped out, former Vice-President Joe Biden (the VP to Mr Obama) will now be selected as the Democrat party's nominee.
Upon dropping out of the race, Mr Sanders congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the Democratic primary. Joe Biden is a "very decent man" said Mr Sanders. He even went to the extent of pledging support, saying that he was hoping to work with Mr Biden “to move our progressive ideas forward."
Mr Sanders told his campaign staff that he would be dropping out of the race on a conference call on Wednesday. He is expected to address his supporters online shortly. Mr Sanders is well-known for his standpoint in politics: he dubs himself a Democratic socialist (one of the few who do so) and found support when he declared that public healthcare and working-class issues would be on his agenda if he were to become President.
“I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth,” Sanders said. The Vermont senator also noted that Joe Biden’s lead over him had also made victory for himself “virtually impossible.” “I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful, and so today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign,” Sanders said. "Sanders acknowledged his withdrawal from the race had been a “difficult and painful decision” that came after an “honest assessment” of his prospects." – Guardian
This was Mr Sanders' second (and successive) run in the primary elections – he pursued the presidential nomination in 2016 before losing out to Hillary Clinton who became the Democratic party's candidate against Donald Trump.
Mr Sanders, aged 78, was very popular among young voters and was a long-time front runner. He surpassed many opponents (eg. Michael Bloomberg) but recently has slipped behind Joe Biden in the party's primary elections.
Mr Sanders also began to gain international support and commendation as he was very wary of the Covid-19 pandemic: he began to host online campaigns on livestreams so that his supporters wouldn't have to risk their health. In addition to this, his policies became all the more appealing to the general populace due to the Covid-19. His very left-winged policies (eg. healthcare for all, free public college, raising taxes on the wealthy and increasing minimum wage) rose in popularity as many people have economic uncertainty and are currently unable to live comfortably in lockdowns all over the United States of America.
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