Sanders says opposing Biden is 'irresponsible'

Bernie Sanders has said that it would be irresponsible for his loyalists not to support Joe Biden, warning that progressives who sit on their hands in the months ahead would simply enable President Donald Trump's reelection.

And lest there be any question, the 78-year-old Vermont senator confirmed that it's probably a very fair assumption that he would not run for president again. He added, with a laugh: One can't predict the future.

Sanders, who suspended his presidential bid last week, spoke at length about his decision to endorse Biden, his political future and the urgent need to unify the Democratic Party during an interview with The Associated Press. He railed against the Republican president but also offered pointed criticism at his own supporters who have so far resisted his vow to do whatever it takes to help Biden win the presidency.

He seemed to distance himself from his campaign's former national press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, when asked about her recent statement on social media refusing to endorse Biden.

She is my former press secretary not on the payroll, Sanders noted. A spokesman later clarified that all campaign staffers were no longer on the payroll as of Tuesday, though they will get a severance check in May.

Sanders said his supporters have a simple choice now that Biden has emerged as the presumptive nominee: 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 reelected?
He 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.'