Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell said the key to a successful 2016 democratic convention is whether or not Bernie Sanders’ supporters “behave” when their candidate inevitably loses the nomination.
“It’s going to be a great convention, but of course the key to it is the Sanders people,” Rendell, the former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor, said in a radio interview with supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis in New York on Sunday morning. “We’re going to have a roll call. There’s going to be a demonstration in support of Bernie. He’s going to lose the roll call. His supporters have to behave and not cause trouble. And I think they will, and I think Sen. Sanders will send them a strong message.”
Although Hillary Clinton is set to officially become the Democratic nominee in July, Sanders has refused to drop out of the race. He claims the DNC has “rigged” the system against him.
On Friday the Vermont senator warned current DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz that if the DNC doesn’t change their “overly partisan” rules favoring Clinton, his supporters would not hesitate to fight on the convention floor.
Rendell went on to explain that despite Clinton’s strengths within the Democratic Party, she is still vulnerable in a general election against Donald Trump. The former party chair argued that Clinton must remain strong in the face of Trump’s attacks and gain as much momentum as possible going in to the general election.
“The Democrats would make a big mistake to take [Trump] lightly,” Rendell said.
If Clinton “takes the bait when Trump goes after her, this could be anyone’s election,” he said.
