Bernie Sanders may not be done with presidential politics.
That’s the message from a memo written by top Sanders aide Faiz Shakir that CNN got its hands on.
“In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president, so we advise that you answer any questions about 2024 with that in mind,” wrote Shakir.
Which is interesting! For a few reasons.
Yes, it’s interesting that Sanders, who is 80, hasn’t given up his hopes of being president – at least not entirely.
But it’s also interesting for what it says about President Joe Biden’s future – or at least what Sanders’ team thinks about it.
What Shakir’s memo makes clear is that the Sanders folks are not entirely sold on the idea that Biden is going to be running again in 2024.
Which, again, interesting! Especially because Biden (and those around him) have said repeatedly that he is planning to run again in two years time.
“In the next election, I’d be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me,” Biden said last month, referring to Donald Trump.
Asked late last year – amid a swirl of rumors about Biden’s future plans – whether Biden was going to run again, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “That’s his intention.”
That isn’t a guarantee, of course! My intention is to work out later today. But that doesn’t mean it is going to happen.
Biden, who is now 79, is the oldest person ever elected to a first term as president. That fact alone means there will be uncertainty about his future plans until the day he makes a definitive statement on whether he’s running (or not).
The Sanders team, in the meantime, wants to make sure their guy’s name stays out there – if Biden decides to call it quits.
And Sanders’ move comes just days after fellow liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren penned an op-ed in the New York Times in which she wrote this: “Despite pandemic relief, infrastructure investments and the historic Supreme Court confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, we promised more — and voters remember those promises.”
The Point: Take those two events together and it’s clear the sharks are circling. Which means Biden may have to move up his timeline for making a final decision on his future.
Source: www.cnn.com