Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) made the mistake of appearing on "The View" on Wednesday. He called via satellite from his Burlington, VT home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was clear from the outset of their call that co-host Whoopi Goldberg was less interested in asking him about policy, and eager to inquire why he was still in the race at all.
"You are staying in this race because you believe there is a path to victory," Goldberg said. "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 this race?"
You can't get much more direct than that.
Sen. @BernieSanders when asked why he’s staying in the race: "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.”
— The View (@TheView) April 1, 2020
“We are assessing our campaign,” he adds. https://t.co/9EgCsAUT3q pic.twitter.com/voCGRgMRm5
Sanders was understandably a bit peeved, and first addressed her initial charge.
"That's not quite accurate. I worked as hard as I could for Hillary Clinton," Sanders returned.
The Senator admitted that he and his team are "assessing" his campaign, but he is still in the race because he believes he knows the best path forward for Americans.
"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," Sanders said.
There's no time like the present, according to Sanders, who said he is currently working on a new stimulus package to make sure Americans still get the health care and payments they need to make it through this pandemic. To Goldberg, it sounded like Sanders's time would be better spent working with his colleagues than campaigning for president.
As of a few weeks ago "The View" had been taping live shows, sans live audiences. But with the scope of the pandemic finally starting to dawn on us, the talk show, like most others, is taking the social distancing rules more seriously. As for the 2020 election, several states have decided to delay their primaries until June. Wisconsin, however, is still proceeding with next week's contest. Sen. Sanders urged them to reconsider.
People shouldn't have to put their lives on the line to vote. Wisconsin should join the 15 states delaying elections, delay Tuesday’s vote, extend early voting, and work to send every voter a ballot by mail. While we wait for a decision we urge our supporters to vote-by-mail.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 1, 2020