Elizabeth Warren Tells Sanders Supporters To Stop Embracing Trumpian Politics Of Division

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:57 am

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who dropped out of the presidential race on Thursday, had some tough words for Bernie Sanders regarding the behavior of his loyal supporters.

In her first interview since ending her bid, Warren said bullying and “organized nastiness” is a particular problem for those who support the Vermont senator, and she compared it to the “politics of division” that Donald Trump embraces.

“I think it’s a real problem,” she said of the way Sanders supporters treat folks who don’t agree with them on every issue.

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“It’s not who I want to be as a Democrat,” Warren added. “It’s not who I want to be as an American. ”

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Warren said:

I think it’s a real problem. … You know, I shouldn’t speak for him. It’s something he should speak for himself on, but I do think it’s something that we need to reckon with in our political discourse, in particular, because this is what politics is about is to get out and put your ideas out there. People choose sides. People vote. People say, I’m holding a sign for her, I’m holding a sign for him. That is part of what we do, but what underlies that is a fundamental human decency and respect for each other and understanding that nobody tries to put somebody’s family at risk or somebody personally at risk because they disagree with you on the politics of it, because they see the policy different, because they don’t support your candidate and they support some other candidate. No. And if we follow that same kind of politics of division that Donald Trump follows, that notion of — he draws strength from tearing people apart, from demonizing people, from saying, oh, those are bad people and that’s — that’s kind of how they draw their strength. It’s not who I want to be as a Democrat. It’s not who I want to be as an American. And to the extent I have any power to control that, I do what I can and I call on others to do the same and I think we have to have some accountability around that.

Still no clues on which remaining candidate Warren will endorse

During her interview on Thursday night, Warren was careful not to give any clues on who she might endorse in the coming weeks.

She had kind words for both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, and there are valid  arguments she could make to justify endorsing either one of the two front-runners.

But the passion she showed when denouncing the politics of division that both the Trump and Sanders campaign embrace is a sign that the Vermont senator still has more work to do to win her over.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.