Stop the bickering: Sanders voices support for Biden’s candidacy

WASHINGTON: Senator Bernie Sanders, a prominent figure of the US political left, on Saturday threw his support behind Joe Biden’s White House campaign, dismissing calls for the president to withdraw from the race over health concerns.

“Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate,” independent senator Sanders wrote in a New York Times column, adding that “it’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking.”

Most polls taken since the debate show Trump with a national lead over Biden, though within the margin of error. They also show some key battleground states, including Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, shifting in the Republican’s favor.

And a majority of Americans -- including Democrats -- believe Biden is too old to serve again, according to a recent poll.

Nor did the president help his own cause when, at a summit in Washington earlier this week, he mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his foe Vladimir Putin, before quickly correcting himself.

Sanders noted in his op-ed that he had some strong disagreements with Biden over “US support for Israel’s horrific war against the Palestinian people” in Gaza.