Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) criticized 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for running for president as a Democrat despite not being a member of the party.
"We have asked him on a continuous basis, ‘if, in fact, you want to be the Democratic nominee, you should be a Democrat,” he told CNN Thursday. “If you're not a Democrat, you should not run. You should run as an independent. He's not a Democrat, so to me, I wouldn't allow a Republican to run as a Democrat or for the Democratic nominee."
"Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat... I want a Democrat to be my representative as President of the United States," @RepGregoryMeeks tells @PoppyHarlowCNN https://t.co/7TmXQtt2df pic.twitter.com/IbeEohtqfZ
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) February 21, 2019
“I want a Democrat to be my representative as president of the United States,” he emphasized.
After announcing his decision to run Tuesday, Sen. Sanders has pledged to sign a statement that he will run for president as a Democrat and if elected he will serve as one.
In the first 24 hours after announcing his bid, Sanders raised $5,925,771 from 223,047 individuals surpassing Sen. Kamala Harris’s $1.5 million from over 38,000 donors in the first day of her campaign.
Sanders, who identifies as an independent and a Democratic socialist, but caucuses with Democrats, is trailing former Vice President Joe Biden with 20 percent support in recent polling.
Sanders boasted Tuesday that his Democratic socialist policy ideas, such as Medicare for All and free college, have become “mainstream,” in the Democratic party.