Bernie Sanders Praises Biden’s New Healthcare And Education Proposals

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:59 am

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary race this week, praised Joe Biden’s newly released healthcare and education proposals.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Sanders applauded Biden’s plan to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and make public college tuition-free for those making less than $125,000 a year.

“The vice president is listening to many of the concerns that low-income and working people and young people have and beginning to move in their direction,” Sanders said.

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Sen. Sanders said:

The vice president is listening to many of the concerns that low-income people and working people and young people have and beginning to move in their direction. He is now on board in making public colleges and universities tuition-free for folks who are under $125,000 a year. He’s on board for cancelling student debt for those who have been at public colleges and universities and HBCU’s. I would have gone, obviously, a lot further, but that is a movement in the right direction, not far enough to my mind but it is a movement, an important movement. Today he announced that he would support reducing the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 down to 60. Again, a step in the right direction. There are millions and millions of people, 62, 64 years of age who desperately want to get into Medicare. They will be able to do it again.

The Democratic Party is starting to unite behind Biden

It will still take some time for Democratic primary voters – particularly those who supported Bernie Sanders – to fully unite behind Joe Biden. But that process is clearly starting to happen.

Unlike in 2016 when Bernie Sanders stayed in the race until the very end, which likely hurt Hillary Clinton in the general election, the Vermont senator clearly saw two things this time around.

First, Biden’s delegate lead is insurmountable. The math simply didn’t exist for the Sanders campaign to mount a credible comeback.

Second, it is imperative that Trump not be given a second term in the White House. Drawing out the primary for no reason would only make it much harder to defeat the incumbent president, and Sanders clearly doesn’t want to be on the hook for that.

Through his praise of Joe Biden on Thursday night, Bernie Sanders is clearly sending a message to his supporters that the former VP might not have been their first choice for president, but he is listening to their concerns.

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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.