Free Republic

Sen. Bernie Sanders has run for the White House two straight times. But the 78-year old populist lawmaker from Vermont is making it clear that the odds of a launching a third campaign for president -- when he'd be in his 80's -- are extremely low. “I think it’s very, very unlikely that I will be running for president ever again,” Sanders said Monday in an interview with the Washington Post.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) addressed the sexual assault allegation faced by former Vice President Joe Biden (D) during an interview with NPR on Thursday, explaining that it was not a "clear cut" situation for Democrats. Questioned on what she wanted to see happen in response to Tara Reade's allegation of a 1993 assault, which Biden has publicly denied, the New York lawmaker noted that Reade herself had not called on Democrats to abandon their support of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. "It's very difficult because this is a hyper-politicized zone, right? Instead of focusing on her account, instead of focusing...

First Read is your briefing from "Meet the Press" and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. WASHINGTON — A month ago, a California woman — Tara Reade — alleged that apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden assaulted her 27 years ago when she worked for Biden in his Senate office, a charge that Biden vehemently denies. “No, it is not true. I am saying unequivocally — it never happened,” Biden said onMSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Friday morning. It's a complicated story, colored by Biden's past history of touching women (though never before in...

So that long farewell from Bernie Sanders wasn't such a long farewell. Actually, Bernie never left the race, even though he said he had suspended his campaign, and New York state, doing what seemed logical, called off its one-candidate primary. Now Joe Biden has another problem. Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign blasted the New York State Board of Elections’ announcement on Monday that his name would not appear on the ballot for the state's presidential primary in June, calling the move an "outrage" and "a blow to American democracy." "Just last week Vice President Biden warned the American people that President...

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Tuesday night that she believes the Democratic Party has an obligation to examine a sexual assault allegation made against presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden by Tara Reade, his former aide when he served as Delaware's senator. In response to a question about the allegations during an online conversation with The Wing—a group dedicated to the "professional, civic, social, and economic advancement of women through community"—Ocasio-Cortez said, "I think it's legitimate to talk about these things." "If we again want to have integrity, you can't say, you know, both believe women, support...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday endorsed Joe Biden for president, more than a month after ending her own presidential bid. "In this moment of crisis, it’s more important than ever that the next president restores Americans’ faith in good, effective government—and I’ve seen Joe Biden help our nation rebuild. Today, I’m proud to endorse," she tweeted, along with a video. The Massachusetts senator had withheld an endorsement ever since ending her campaign in early March, even as the race narrowed to essentially a contest between Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders. But with Sanders dropping out last week, Biden became the...

Former President Barack Obama had multiple long discussions with Sen. Bernie Sanders in an effort to convince him to bow out of the presidential primary, playing a significant role in the Democratic socialist’s decision-making, according to a report. In the weeks after former Vice President Joe Biden established himself as the presumptive Democratic nominee, following his win in South Carolina and sweeping victories on Super Tuesday, Obama had at least four conversations with the presidential hopeful, according to the New York Times. The paper reports that the former president told a close friend that Biden, now the party front-runner, needed to “accelerate the...

Bernie Sanders gave former presidential-primary foe Joe Biden his biggest endorsement yet Monday by joining him in a livestreamed event. “We must come together to defeat the most dangerous president in modern history,” Sanders tweeted. “Bernie, I’m gonna need you,” Biden told the Vermont US senator.

Saying "we need you in the White House," Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden for president on Monday, less than a week after suspending his own campaign for the Democratic Party nomination. The Vermont senator made the announcement during a livestreamed virtual event with Biden, the former vice president who is now his party's presumptive presidential nominee. "We are in a terrible moment, an unprecedented moment and I know we share the understand that we have to go forward, right now and out of this, in an unprecedented way to address the terrible pain that so many of our fellow...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a new interview that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign has not reached out to her. The progressive first-term congresswoman was a high-profile surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who dropped out of the race last week. She reiterated in an interview with The New York Times published Monday that she plans to support the party’s nominee. “I’ve always said that I will support the Democratic nominee. But unity is a process, and figuring out what that looks like is part of this whole conversation that I think Bernie and [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz unloaded on his Democratic colleagues on Friday in response to Sen. Dianne Feinstein sending a letter to President Trump declaring that she is “disappointed” in his administration’s plan to block funding to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. The Democrats’ demand of Trump to help Iran get $5 billion in aid, Cruz noted, comes “at the exact same time” that they are “blocking desperately need relief to small businesses in America.” In late March, a group of Democratic lawmakers — among them Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), and Rashida Tlaib (MI), and...

Should we take this with a grain of salt, considering the source? Or should we just enjoy the schadenfreude of it all as a Friday gift amidst the pandemic gloom? I’ll take Door #2, and go long on popcorn futures, too: A majority of Democrats want to nominate New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for president instead of Joe Biden, according to poll results shared exclusively with The Post.The national poll found 56 percent of Democrats prefer Cuomo, with 44 percent wanting to stick with presumptive nominee Biden — a 12-point margin well outside the 4.8 percent margin of error...

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday suspended his presidential campaign and acknowledged that “Vice President Biden will be the nominee.” But the populist firebrand from Vermont made it crystal clear that his name will remain on the Democratic primary ballot going forward. “I will stay on the ballot in all remaining states and continue to gather delegates,” the senator said while announcing the end of his presidential bid. “We must continue working to assemble as many delegates as possible at the Democratic convention where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions.” Sanders has...

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Wednesday scolded progressives who may “plan to sit this election out or vote for Trump.” She issued her warning after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced the suspension of his presidential bid, begging them to remain active and “fight like hell” to oust President Trump and “end the rise of fascism in this country.” Sanders formally ended his year-long campaign on Wednesday, conceding that the path to the nomination simply is not feasible. He tried to encourage supporters, reminding them of their greater movement and contending that they are “winning the ideological battle.” Omar, one of...

The Green Party, a political party that prioritizes environmental issues, posted a statement Wednesday attempting to court supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who dropped out of the Democratic presidential race earlier in the day. “The Green Party will continue to build and expand on issues that Sanders raised. Join us,” the statement read. The Green Party shares many major policy stances as the Vermont independent; however, the third-party has failed to gain wide recognition, with its presidential candidates often left out of presidential debates and rarely making a dent in elections. “These transformations will benefit all who challenge the...

Local governments around the US are taking more draconian measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by barring "essential" stores such as grocery chains or big-box retailers from selling "nonessential" items such as clothing and electronics. These stores, which have been allowed to stay open during state lockdowns because they sell groceries or offer pharmacy services, for example, are now required in some parts of the US to remove nonessential items or rope off areas of the store so customers can't access these products.

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein responded to the end of the presidential campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) by telling her followers to exit the Democratic party, and many Democrats were incensed at the suggestion.

A slate of progressive youth groups have issued a list of demands they want to see presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden adopt ahead of the general election. Eight progressive groups said in a joint letter released Wednesday that they feared Biden’s centrist policies would alienate younger voters, who trend more liberal, and hinder Democrats’s efforts to unseat President Trump in November. The groups noted that while Biden racked up delegates with a March winning spree, he consistently ceded voters under 45 years old to Sanders in the primaries. SNIP While Sanders, who had garnered the endorsements of all eight...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday in a conference call with staff, his campaign said in a statement.