Sen. Bernie Sanderson Wednesday repeatedly pledged that he would defeat President Trump – after rivals raised doubts about his electability and have begun warning his socialist label could imperil the ticket.
‘I know sometimes you can turn on the TV, you can hear some of these guys say Bernie can’t beat Trump, he said in a possible reference to rivals Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, and Pete Buttigieg who have highlighted the risks of him as Democratic presidential nominee.
‘Well, let me say something to then. Take a look at the last 50 – five-zero – polls. We beat Trump 47 of them,’ Sanders said to loud cheers. ‘Take a look at the polls in battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania we are beating Trump.’
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 26, 2020
‘We are beating Trump because our agenda is the agenda of the working families of this country who are sick and tired of working longer hours for lower wages and seeing all this new income go to the top 1 per cent,’ said Sanders, who spoke at a convention center in Myrtle Beach.
We’re going to win this election, we’re going to win the primary, we’re going to defeat Trump because the American people want an economy and a government that works for all, not just wealthy campaign contributors,’ he said.
His remarks came hours after he sustained attacks from several presidential rivals on the debate stage in Charleston – drawing criticism for the cost of his plans, a lack of detail about how to fund his initiatives, and shouldering the socialist label against President Trump.
His cheering supporters on hand in Myrtle beach cheered at each platform of his agenda, declaring ‘We will win this election.’ The Sanders camp put the crowd count at just under 3,000, citing the venue manager.
Sanders cited polls that show him beating Trump head to head
Sanders stopped short of declaring victory in South Carolina – where two new polls Wednesday showed him trailing Joe Biden, who picked up the coveted endorsement of Rep. James C. Clyburn on Wednesday.
He called it an ‘enormously important primary’ – but also pointed to the upcoming Super Tuesday states.
‘We started out in this case 30 points behind. We ain’t 30 points behind today!’ he said to cheers. ‘We have closed that gap. And I believe that if there is a large voter turnout on Saturday, all of you come out and vote … we can win here on Saturday,’ he said.
Sanders took on the electability issue as Democratic leader vowed to back the nominee and predicated any Democrat would prevail.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would be comfortable with Sanders at the top of the ticket, even amid warnings from other Democrats that Sanders could cost seats down the ticket or even lose to Donald Trump.
‘I would hope that everyone would say, no matter who the nominee is for president, we wholeheartedly embrace that person,’ she told her caucus.
‘We cannot show any division. This has to be about unity, unity, unity,’ she said, according to a Democratic aide who attended the session. The aide was not authorized to discuss the private meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity,’ she said, the Associated Press reported.
She told reporters: ‘I think whoever our nominee is, we will enthusiastically embrace and we will win the White House, the Senate and the House.’
‘Today people are talking about a revolution. What the country’s looking for are results,’ said Biden
Biden was leading Sanders 31 to 23 in a new poll from East South Carolina University. Biden led him 35 to 13 in a new Clemson University poll, with Tom Steyer at 17 per cent.
Biden swiped at Sanders earlier while picking up Clyburn’s endorsement.
‘Today people are talking about a revolution. What the country’s looking for are results. What they’re looking for is security. What they’re looking for is to be able to sustain and maintain their dignity,’ Biden said.
Before Sanders took the stage, an introducer mocked the labels that some of his rivals are throwing at him.
‘He’s crazy! He’s wild. He’s a socialist! He’s a madman!’ she said, mocking doubters.
Sanders kept to his stump speech, with polls showing he has a path to the nomination with a strong showing on Super Tuesday.
‘No matter what your political point of view may be, I think you und that the United States cannot continue to have a president who is a pathological liar, a president who is running a corrupt administration, a president who has apparently never read the Constitution of the United States. A president who is a racist. A sexist. A homophobe. A xenophobe. And a religious bigot. And those are his good qualities,’ he said.
‘We are going to defeat Donald Trump because he is also a fraud,’ he said.