Bernie Sanders warns loyalists: It would be 'irresponsible' to not support Biden

With the most far-left candidate of the 2020 Presidential race now out of the picture, Joe Biden, the former Vice President and now the last standing Democratic candidate, is the presumptive nominee. Though most Democratic voters have quickly pivoted to rooting and campaigning for Biden, there still remains a few Bernie Sanders "loyalists" who refuse to accept that Biden's name will appear on the ticket in November. They have, therefore, chosen to abstain entirely from voting. For the Democratic Party, this could spell trouble. Meanwhile, for the rest of the country, this could mean another four years of President Donald Trump in the White House. Sanders thus took to warning his voters about "sitting on their hands" during the upcoming elections, claiming that doing so would be "irresponsible," The Guardian reports.

Senator Sanders, who recently endorsed former competitor Biden, on Tuesday night criticized his supporters for their decision to not vote for Biden. He explained that voters who wanted to vote blue this November have two options. He asked, "Do we be as active as we can in electing Joe Biden and doing everything we can to move Joe and his campaign in a more progressive direction? Or do we choose to sit it out and allow the most dangerous president in modern American history to get re-elected?" These, of course, are the two most pertinent questions a Democratic voter must answer in order to determine the future of the United States.

The former candidate continued, "I believe that it’s irresponsible for anybody to say, ‘Well, I disagree with Joe Biden’ – I disagree with Joe Biden! – ‘and therefore I’m not going to be involved.’" In the same stroke, he vowed to continue fighting for some of the key pillars that he launched his campaign on, such as Medicare for All. Even though Biden has refused to see eye-to-eye on the government-backed single-payer healthcare system, Senator Sanders remains committed to the cause. In the meantime, he urged voters to continue voting for him in states where primary elections are yet to be held.

"If people want to vote for me, we’d appreciate it," said Sanders, adding later that it may encourage Biden's campaign to move further to the left. "I think you’re going to see significant movement on the part of the Biden campaign into a more progressive direction on a whole lot of issues." Furthermore, though the Senator is now confined to his room, he has vowed to help Biden through whatever means he can. He said in his endorsement of the presumptive nominee, "I will do everything I can to help elect Joe. We had a contentious campaign. We disagree on issues. But my job now is to not only rally my supporters, but to do everything I can to bring the party together to see that [Trump] is not elected President." Sanders had the most progressive campaign in recent history. As the furthest left candidate of all the Democrats, a Sanders presidency would have changed the outlook of our country. Nonetheless, it is now time to rally for a candidate who believes in the tenets of American life: equality, liberty, and justice.