Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has thrown his hat in the ring, joining a crowded field of Democrats vying to take on President Trump in 2020.
"We began the political revolution in the 2016 campaign, and now it's time to move that revolution forward," the independent senator told Vermont Public Radio in an interview that will air Tuesday morning.
A self-styled democratic socialist whose calls for “Medicare for all,” a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free public colleges have become pillars of the party’s left wing, Mr. Sanders is among the best-known politicians to join an already crowded Democratic field and one of the most outspoken against President Trump, whom he has repeatedly called a “pathological liar” and a “racist.”
“Three years ago, during our 2016 campaign, when we brought forth our progressive agenda we were told that our ideas were ‘radical’ and ‘extreme,’” Mr. Sanders planned to say on Tuesday in an early-morning email to supporters, citing those health, economic and education policies as well as combating climate change and raising taxes on wealthy Americans.
“Well, three years have come and gone. And, as result of millions of Americans standing up and fighting back, all of these policies and more are now supported by a majority of Americans,” he said. (NYT)
"We're gonna win," Sanders told "CBS This Morning," vowing to "lay the groundwork for transforming the economic and political life of this country."
#BREAKING: Senator @BernieSanders tells @CBSNews in an exclusive interview that he will run for president.
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 19, 2019
"We're gonna win. We are gonna also launch what I think is unprecedented in modern American history and that is a grassroots movement." https://t.co/b9l17Noxqa pic.twitter.com/cFO0lJdQTL
Sanders will take on Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, among others.
The RNC responded to the senator's announcement Tuesday, reminding people just how radically out-of-touch the policies he pushes are with mainstream voters.
"Bernie Sanders is a self-avowed socialist who wants to double your taxes so the government can take over your health care," said RNC Spokesman Michael Ahrens. "The vast majority of voters oppose his radical agenda, just like they are going to oppose all the 2020 Democrats who have rushed to embrace it."
This is a breaking news post and will be updated with additional information.