Whoopi Goldberg Grills Bernie Sanders Over His Decision to Stay in Primary
Written by SOURCE on April 2, 2020
Things got a little tense during Wednesday’s episode of The View when co-host Whoopi Goldberg questioned Bernie Sanders about his decision to remain in the Democratic primary.
“I’ve been watching to see what you were going to do,” Goldberg told the Vermont senator via video. “I’m told that you intend to stay in this race for president because you believe there’s a path to victory. I want to know what that path is, because this feels a little bit like it did when you didn’t come out when Hillary Clinton was clearly the person folks were going for. So, can you explain why you’re still in the race and what this path is that you see.”
Many moderates have criticized Sanders for allegedly refusing to throw his support behind 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Some have argued that the progressive lawmaker was to blame for Clinton’s loss, as he waited too long to endorse her. It’s worth noting, however, that Sanders vigorously campaigned for the former Secretary of State, appearing at nearly 40 rallies in 13 different states, including swing states Clinton seemingly took for granted.
“I worked as hard as I could for Hillary Clinton,” Sanders responded before Goldberg interrupted.
“But Bernie, just so we’re clear, you worked for Hillary, but it took you a very, very long time to hop in and you’re people also, it took a very long time for them to hop in,” Goldberg added.
Sanders said he disagreed with Goldberg’s assessment, prompting the co-host to interrupt once again: “Why are you still in the race?”
Though Sanders acknowledged he has a narrow path to the nomination, it’s important to remember that only about half of the states have voted in the Democratic primary. Sanders, who trails former Vice President Joe Biden by about 300 pledged delegates, said it was important for the rest of the country to have a say on who will represent the Democratic party and ultimately take on President Donald Trump.
“Last I heard, people in a democracy have a right to vote, and they have a right to vote for the agenda that they think can work for America, especially in this very, very difficult moment,” Sanders said, referencing the coronavirus pandemic. “We are assessing our campaign, as a matter of fact, where we want to go forward, but people in a democracy do have a right to vote. And right now in this unprecedented moment in American history, I think we need to have a very serious look at how we need to go forward.”
“So your plan is to stay in, yes? Your plan is to stay…” Goldberg replied.
“Well, for the fourth time … We are assessing it,” Sanders said.
You can check out the exchange above and Twitter reactions below.
