Sen. Bernard Sanders reopened old wounds for Democrats this week, saying “some people say” he would have defeated President Trump in 2016 if the party’s nominating system wasn’t “rigged” against him.
“Some people say that if maybe that system was not rigged against me, I would have won the nomination and defeated Donald Trump — that’s what some people say,” he said.
In an interview with MSNBC, portions of which aired Thursday, Mr. Sanders had been asked if he would drop out of the presidential race before the Democratic National Convention if it was clear that he would not be the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.
“I intend to be the Democratic nominee,” he said.
“Are you asking that of every candidate?” he eventually added.
Some supporters of Mr. Sanders said that the Democratic National Committee put its thumb on the scale in 2016 for eventual nominee Hillary Clinton — and some are already fearing something similar could happen in the current contest with former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.
“Right now, we are planning to win the Democratic nomination, and I’m proud of the campaigns we’re running in Iowa and in New Hampshire, and [I’m] proud of our grassroots support and the fact that we have a million volunteers,” he said.
“So our goal right now is to win it,” he said. “So we’re going to beat Trump; we’re going to win the Democratic nomination.”
The Vermont independent also said that “of course” he’s a Democrat.
“This is a Democratic primary,” he said.
Mr. Sanders is one of 10 candidates who will take the stage Thursday evening on the second night of the DNC’s opening presidential debate for the 2020 cycle.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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