Sanders drops out of 2020 presidential race
Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his exit from the 2020 campaign on Wednesday, clearing the way for former Vice President Joe Biden to become the Democratic nominee.
Video Transcript
BERNIE SANDERS: I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth. And that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden, and the path toward victory is virtually impossible. So, while we are winning the ideological battle and while we are winning the support of so many young people and working people throughout the country, I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful.
And so, today, I am announcing the suspension of my campaign. Please know that I do not make this decision lightly. In fact, it has been a very difficult and painful decision. Over the past few weeks, Jane and I, in consultation with top staff and many of our prominent supporters, have made an honest assessment of the prospects for victory. If I believed that we had a feasible path to the nomination, I would certainly continue the campaign.
But it's just not there. I know that there may be some in our movement who disagree with this decision, who would like us to fight on to the last ballot cast at the Democratic Convention. I understand that position. But, as I see the crisis gripping the nation, exacerbated by a president unwilling or unable to provide any kind of credible leadership and the work that needs to be done to protect people in this most desperate hour, I cannot, in good conscience, continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour.
But let me say this very emphatically. As you all know, we have never been just a campaign. We are a grassroots, multiracial, multigenerational movement which has always believed that real change never comes from the top on down but always from the bottom on up.
We have taken on Wall Street, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial complex, the prison industrial complex, and the greed of the entire corporate elite. That struggle continues. While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that, quote, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," end quote. The fight for justice is what our campaign has been about. The fight for justice is what our movement remains about.
Today, I congratulate Joe Biden, a very decent man who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward. On a practical note, let me also say this. I will stay on the ballot in all remaining states and continue to gather delegates. While Vice President Biden will be the nominee, we must continue working to assemble as many delegates as possible at the Democratic Convention, where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions. Then, together, standing United, we will go forward to defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history.
