Bernie Sanders Will Reportedly Land Endorsement From The Squad At Upcoming Rally
On the heels of the fourth Democratic presidential primary debate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is scheduled to hold a special “Bernie’s Back” campaign rally in New York on Saturday, the name of the rally referring to his recent comeback from a heart attack scare.
While that’s good news alone for his supporters, Sanders hinted during Tuesday night’s debate that he’ll have a special guest appearing at the rally. A report by The Washington Post late Tuesday night indicated that the special guest will be Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is expected to surprise rally attendees with an official endorsement for Sanders’ presidential campaign, according to Newsweek.
Corbin Trent, a campaign spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez, told The Washington Post, “We’re looking forward to Saturday.” While Sanders’ campaign declined to confirm or deny the special surprise, a campaign insider reportedly confirmed the surprise endorsement.
Shortly after the report, CNN reporter Greg Krieg revealed via Twitter that Sanders would also be picking up official endorsements from other members of the Squad, Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
“New: Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib will also endorse Sanders, according to source. AOC will, as @daveweigel and @WaPoSean first reported, will do the same on Saturday in NYC,” Krieg tweeted Tuesday night.
Confirming the endorsement for her fellow firebrand progressive congressional colleague, Omar explained why she chose to back Sanders in a statement.
“Bernie is leading a working class movement to defeat Donald Trump that transcends generation, ethnicity, and geography,” Omar’s statement read, while praising Sanders’ plan to cancel student debt, his ideas for immigration reform, and for his plans to end foreign wars.
“And it’s why I believe Bernie Sanders is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump in 2020.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who also makes up the four-member group in the House of Representatives known as the Squad, hasn’t revealed whether or not she’ll join her colleagues in endorsing Sanders.
Since Sanders already has a strong base of support among young voters, an endorsement from the Squad will only serve to bolster his credibility with this group, as all members of the progressive group of freshman lawmakers are also popular with the 18-24 demographic, thanks in part to their mastery of social media messaging.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Sanders’ campaign has struggled in some early-voting states to reassure voters that he’s still able to carry on with a demanding presidential campaign, given his age and the heart attack he suffered in early October.
Since his health scare, he dropped to fourth place in Iowa — a critical early-voting state — and dropped to third place in South Carolina and New Hampshire.
