Fact-checking the Democratic debate in South Carolina

FAN Editor

CLAIM: Biden: “Being progressive, he (Sanders) thought Barack Obama — he wanted to primary — he wanted to primary Barack Obama.”

FACT CHECK: Partly true. Sanders thought it would be a “good idea” for Mr. Obama to be primaried, but he did not plan to challenge Mr. Obama himself.

Sanders did bring up the possibility of a primary challenge to President Obama on the Thom Hartmann radio show on July 22, 2011, but he did not say that he himself would run.

“So my suggestion is, I think one of the reasons the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him,” Sanders said, “and I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting what is a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama is doing…Discouragement is not an option. I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.”

The idea was mentioned again in a recent article in  The Atlantic, and Sanders was asked about the story at a February 24, 2020 CNN Town Hall. Here’s that exchange: 

CUOMO: …”The Atlantic” had the reporting. They published an initial report that said then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had to talk you into it.
SANDERS: No, not true at all. And call up Harry, and he will deny that. There’s another one that involved Senator Leahy. He will deny it, as well. Just wasn’t true.

I did not give any consideration — you know, I’m the senator from a small state. And I did not give any consideration to running for president of the United States until 2015. And that was — I was looking around and I thought that the working families of this country needed a progressive voice.

And the truth is, as you will recall, Chris, there was a lot of discussion about Elizabeth Warren running for president. And I waited. And Senator Warren said, no, she’s not going to run. I did run. But the idea of running in 2012, absolutely untrue.
—   Maggie Dore

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

At least 20 killed in violent clashes in India's capital

Three days of clashes in India’s capital city of New Delhi  between opponents and supporters of India’s new citizenship law left at least 20 dead and more than 150 injured. The violence erupted during and after President Trump’s first official visit to the subcontinent. The clashes involved Hindus and Muslims in […]