Bernie Sanders Drops Out of Presidential Race, Making Joe Biden Presumptive Democratic Nominee

For the second presidential election in a row, the Bern has fizzled out.

Bernie Sanders ended his left-wing 2020 campaign Wednesday after a string of stinging primary defeats left him without a viable path to victory, effectively making Joe Biden the Democratic nominee for president.

Sanders — at one point the front-runner of the race — acknowledged in a live-streamed video message that Biden’s lead in the delegate count is insurmountable and said he had no choice but to give up.

“If I believed we had a feasible path to the nomination, I would certainly continue this campaign, but it’s just not there,” Sanders said from his home in Vermont, calling his exit from the race “very difficult and painful.”

Sanders initially appeared on track to pull off the electoral upset he couldn’t muster against Hillary Clinton in 2016 after winning the first three contests of the 2020 primary season.

But the 78-year-old Vermont senator began running out of steam after Biden won South Carolina’s primary on Feb. 29.

Sanders’ front-runner status evaporated completely after Biden swept 10 primaries on Super Tuesday and the Democratic Party establishment began rallying around the former vice president.

In his farewell message, Sanders called Biden a “very decent man,” but notably did not outright endorse him.

Rather, Sanders suggested his battle against the establishment was just getting started.

For starters, Sanders said he will remain on the ballot in all remaining primaries and continue to rack up delegates in an attempt to push Biden further to the left on some of his signature issues.

Bernie Sanders drops out of presidential race, saying he concluded his path to victory was 'virtually impossible' https://t.co/yFvB3AZi6R pic.twitter.com/U0OjbhosW6

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“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,” Sanders said, listing off single-payer healthcare, $15 federal minimum wage and free college as proposals he will continue to advocate vociferously for.

Sanders also signaled that he may not have dropped out if it wasn’t for the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed at least 12,000 people in the U.S., infected more than 400,000 and grounded American life to a halt.

“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,” Sanders said.

Biden — who’s now the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge President Trump in November — vowed to continue Sanders’ fight for income equality, universal healthcare and free college, though he added a caveat.

“While Bernie and I may not agree on how we might get there, we agree on the ultimate goal for these issues and many more,” Biden said in a statement. “And, most important of all, we will defeat Donald Trump.”

President Trump, who frequently uses his Twitter handle to sow discord among Democrats, seized on Sanders’ exit as an opportunity to extend a political olive branch.

“This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco,” the president tweeted. “The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!”

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