Bernie Sanders is drawing sharp contrasts between himself and Joe Biden as the Vermont senator’s path to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination narrows.
Sanders, late Friday, lobbed a new political attack at the two-term vice president in Detroit, honing in on his past views on abortion rights.
“On this issue Joe Biden has not been consistent and, in fact, has not had a good record. Two years after Roe v. Wade was decided Sen. Biden said this, and I quote: ‘I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body,'” said a tweet from Sanders’s verified Twitter account.
He highlighted a clip of the line, taken from a 1974 interview with the Washingtonian.
Two years after Roe v. Wade was decided Joe Biden said: “I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body.” pic.twitter.com/6fWBGKBm2H
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 7, 2020
Biden’s position on reproductive rights has changed, but he received flak earlier in the cycle for his prior support of the Hyde Amendment. The legislative provision bans federal funds being used for abortion unless it would save the mother’s life or if the pregnancy arose from rape or incest.
Sanders’s new tone pervades his campaign after Biden reclaimed his status as the race’s front-runner on Super Tuesday and a new round of primaries fast approaches next week. Michigan and a majority of its 125 pledged delegates are a must-win for Sanders on Tuesday so he can keep his presidential ambitions alive.
His team has long blasted Biden over his Social Security record, an issue it hoped would soften his support among older Democrats. But this week, the team also dredged up Delaware’s 36-year senator’s backing of trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and establishing permanent normal trade relations with China. Aides insist President Trump will exploit that political weakness in a general election in Rust Belt states such as Michigan.
“If we are going to defeat Trump in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, it will be very hard for a candidate who voted for these disastrous trade agreements,” Sanders said in Detroit Friday.
Ahead of Tuesday’s primaries, Biden has 596 delegates to the Vermont senator’s 526. A total of 1,991 delegates are needed to become the 2020 nominee outright.
