Joe Biden took a victory lap for coming in a distant second in the Nevada caucuses Saturday to Bernie Sanders, having improved upon his fourth and fifth place finishes in the two opening primary states.
‘Well, you all did it for me!’ Biden told a crowd of supporters gathered in a Las Vegas union hall. ‘Now we are going on to South Carolina to win and we’re going to take this back.’
‘By the way, I plan on coming back to win this state outright,’ Biden added.
Sanders had about a 36-point lead over Biden in the state when networks declared him the winner, though the former vice president offered no congratulations, and instead attacked the democratic socialist without saying his name.
Later, as more results came in, the race tightened a bit.
‘I know we don’t have the final results yet, but I feel really good, you put me a position,’ Biden said. ‘You know the press is ready to declare people dead quickly. But we’re alive and we’re coming back and we’re going to win.’
Vice President Joe Biden appeared at a Las Vegas union hall Saturday after the Nevada caucuses to cheer the result
The former vice president, who appeared alongside his wife Jill, came in a distant second to Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses Saturday
Joe Biden’s second place finish was an improvement over his fifth-place finish in New Hampshire and fourth-place finish in Iowa
A Joe Biden supporter cries at he speaks to his crowd of supporters in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday after coming in second in the caucuses
At one point a supporter yelled out ‘comeback kid!’ at Biden, a reference to the nickname given to Bill Clinton after he came in second place in New Hampshire, eventually earning him to the nomination in 1992.
Biden talked of a strong union showing for him.
‘And by the way, and by the way, I heard that we probably did awfully well with culinary workers,’ he said in a coded dig at Sanders, as material sent out by the Culinary Workers Union pre-caucus had said the Vermont senator would ‘end’ their healthcare.
Sanders backs Medicare-for-All, which would move all Americans over to a government healthcare plan. Sanders campaigns on healthcare being a ‘right,’ while Biden wants to improve on Obamacare, the healthcare law passed while he was serving as President Obama’s vice president.
‘I know we don’t have the final results yet, but I feel really good, you put me a position,’ Biden continued. ‘You know the press is ready to declare people dead quickly. But we’re alive and we’re coming back and we’re going to win.’
‘I think we’re in a position now to move on in a way that we haven’t been until this moment,’ the ex-veep said.
Biden had finished a disappointing fourth place in Iowa and took fifth place in New Hampshire, while Sanders won the popular vote in the Hawkeye State and won the Granite State primary.
‘I think we’re going to go, we’re going to win in South Carolina and then Super Tuesday and we are on our way,’ Biden maintained.
Turning his attention back to Sanders – but, again, not saying his rival’s name – Biden explained that he thought Americans were looking for a fair shot ‘not a handout.’
‘I’m a Democrat for a simple reason – I ain’t a socialist, I ain’t a plutocrat, I’m a Democrat and I’m proud of it,’ Biden said. ‘Look, you gotta remember, what made you become a Democrat in the first place?’ Explaining his was the idea that ‘everybody needs a shot.’
He, of course, brought up his close relationship with Obama.
‘And I’m proud to still be his friend,’ BIden said. ‘And I tell you what, I promise you I wasn’t talking about running a Democratic primary against him in 2012.’
Biden was referring to a report from the Atlantic that Sanders had floated the idea of mounting a primary challenge against Obama in 2012, when the Democratic president was up for re-election.
Then Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to step in and put a stop to it, the report said. The Sanders campaign has pushed back on the narrative.
Biden got in one last dig before concluding his 12 minute remarks, which he was delivering as NBC called the Nevada caucuses for Sanders.
‘We’re going to have more help coming from Vladimir Putin … who wants somebody who doesn’t think [he] can beat Trump,’ Biden said.
One day before the caucuses it came out that Sanders had been briefed on Russian interference, including that the country – that interfered in the 2016 election – was trying to help himl, likely so the democratic socialist could lose the general election to President Trump.