Sanders pushes back on doubts supporters will back Biden

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday pushed back on a former aide who said presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is not doing enough to attract his formal progressive rival’s supporters, saying the “vast majority” of them consider President Trump to be the “most dangerous president in modern history.”

“Your former campaign manager Jeff Weaver put out a memo this week where he warned that Vice President Biden is falling far short with your supporters, the supporters who supported you during the primary campaign that he’s going to need in November. Is he right about that?” host George Stephanopoulos asked Sanders on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I think, at the end of day, they will be voting for Joe Biden,” Sanders responded.

“But I think what Joe is going to have to do and he’s beginning to move in that direction, is to say that those working-class people, say to those young people, say to those minorities, ‘Listen, I understand your situation,’” he added. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders says he thinks that the “vast majority” of Sanders supporters “do understand that Donald Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country,” and “at the end of the day, they will be voting for Joe Biden.” https://t.co/UAkLxXsVIu pic.twitter.com/dzEzEmOmTb

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 17, 2020

The Vermont senator also said he thinks the Biden campaign knows it has to demonstrate an understanding for those populations in order to earn their votes. 

“I think they are going to reach out to our supporters and come up with an agenda that speaks to the needs of working families, of young families, of minority communities,” Sanders said.

The primary race between Sanders, who dropped out last month, and Biden has highlighted the tug-of-war of the Democratic Party between moderate and progressive candidates.

Biden has taken steps to accept parts of the progressive movement’s agenda by embracing expanding health care coverage eligibility through Medicare, canceling student debt for millions and resetting the bankruptcy system