Story highlights
Sanders has called for the ousting of leadership from the convention committee level up to the top
Sanders has publicly clashed with Wasserman Schultz throughout the campaign
(CNN) —
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday vowed to work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump, but he didn’t end his presidential bid or endorse the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly,” Sanders said in a much-anticipated live-stream address. “And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time.”
Sanders did not offer details on how he plans to fulfill that role.
Much of the video amounted to a version of Sanders’ standard stump speech, and he encouraged his legions of followers to run for local office.
He once again pledged to take his bid all the way to the convention. And he described his differences with Clinton as “strong” but limited.
“It is no secret that Secretary Clinton and I have strong disagreements on some very important issues. It is also true that our views are quite close on others,” Sanders said. “I look forward, in the coming weeks, to continued discussions between the two campaigns to make certain that your voices are heard and that the Democratic Party passes the most progressive platform in its history and that Democrats actually fight for that agenda.”
The Vermont senator vowed to take his campaign’s “energy” into the Democratic National Convention next month. But Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Bloomberg News earlier Thursday that the campaign was no longer actively lobbying superdelegates.
Sanders’ presidential campaign is winding down – but his fight with the Democratic National Committee is just getting started.
The Vermont senator has called for the ousting of leadership from the convention committee level up to the top – publicly insisting that DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz be replaced. And his campaign wants two well-known Democrats removed from key posts at the national convention in Philadelphia next month.
“I do believe that we have to replace the current Democratic National Committee leadership,” Sanders told reporters in Washington Tuesday as the last Democratic primary voters went to the polls. “We need a person at the leadership of the DNC who is vigorously supporting and out working to bring people into the political process.”
Sanders has publicly clashed with Wasserman Schultz throughout the campaign, including a spat over the number of debates scheduled that led to one of his congressional backers, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, quitting her post at the DNC.
He also sent a letter last month to the committee calling for the removal of two Democrats from their convention leadership positions: Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, who co-chairs the Platform Committee, and former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, co-chairman of the Rules Committee.
Clinton, Sanders meet; Clinton wins D.C. primary
The DNC swiftly dismissed the request.
Frank has spoken out against Sanders, writing in July 2015 that Sanders’ campaign was a threat to Clinton’s chances in a general election and “wishful thinking is no way to win the presidency.” Malloy has been critical of Sanders’ record on gun control.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Nam Y. Huh/AP
US Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Chicago in March 2019. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos
Sanders, right, leads a sit-in organized by the Congress of Racial Equality in 1962. The demonstration was staged to oppose housing segregation at the University of Chicago. It was Chicago's first civil rights sit-in.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Donna Light/AP
Sanders takes the oath of office to become the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1981. He ran as an independent and won the race by 10 votes.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Toby Talbot/AP
Sanders, right, tosses a baseball before a minor-league game in Vermont in 1984. US Sen. Patrick Leahy, center, was also on hand.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Toby Talbot/AP
In 1987, Sanders and a group of Vermont musicians recorded a spoken-word folk album. "We Shall Overcome" was first released as a cassette that sold about 600 copies. When Sanders entered the US presidential race in 2015, the album surged in online sales. But at a CNN town hall, Sanders said, "It's the worst album ever recorded."
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
Sanders reads mail at his campaign office in Burlington in 1990. He was running for the US House of Representatives after an unsuccessful bid in 1988.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Rob Swanson/AP
In 1990, Sanders defeated US Rep. Peter Smith in the race for Vermont's lone House seat. He won by 16 percentage points.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Marcy Nighswander/AP
Sanders sits next to President Bill Clinton in 1993 before the Congressional Progressive Caucus held a meeting at the White House. Sanders co-founded the caucus in 1991 and served as its first chairman.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
TOBY TALBOT/AP
Barack Obama, then a US senator, endorses Sanders' Senate bid at a rally in Burlington in 2006.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
David Scull/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Sanders takes part in a swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol in January 2007. He won his Senate seat with 65% of the vote.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Toby Talbot/AP
Sanders chats with Dr. John Matthew, director of The Health Center in Plainfield, Vermont, in May 2007. Sanders was in Plainfield to celebrate a new source of federal funding for The Health Center.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Sanders speaks to reporters in 2010 about the Obama administration's push to extend Bush-era tax cuts. Three days later, Sanders held a filibuster against the reinstatement of the tax cuts. His speech, which lasted more than eight hours, was published in book form in 2011. It is called "The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class."
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Sanders and US Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, walk to a news conference on Capitol Hill in 2014. Sanders was chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Photos: Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
PHOTO:
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP
In March 2015, Sanders speaks in front of letters and petitions asking Congress to reject proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
