Biden campaign repeatedly dodges ‘most progressive administration’ praise from Sanders

The segment began with a discussion of new Trump campaign ads that suggest that Biden is catering to and controlled by the “radical left,” a message that the Trump team has pushed in the past but is now putting new energy and money toward.

“Meet the new strategy, same as the old strategy,” Bedingfield said.

She was then asked about Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders saying Sunday that after coming to gather to defeat Trump, those on the Left will “come together to make the Biden administration the most progressive administration it can become.”

Bedingfield declined to say whether Sanders’s assessment was accurate.

“Joe Biden is the same candidate that he was in the primary. He’s somebody who’s all about bringing people to the table. He’s about casting the widest, most inclusive net,” she said.

Asked to respond directly to Sanders, Bedingfield again dodged, saying that if elected, Biden would inherit a “once-in-a-generation level of challenge” left to him by the current administration and that the former vice president is putting forward “bold, progressive plans.”

“Yes, he is absolutely about bringing everyone to the table to tackle these massive crises,” she added.

Asked whether Sanders’s assessment helps Biden, Bedingfield said that the campaign welcomes everyone who believes Biden should be president rather than Trump.

The Democratic presidential nominee adopted several positions further to the left than what he campaigned on during the primary soon after it became clear that he was the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Biden adopted key proposals from the two biggest leftists in the primary field: a proposal from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to make all public higher education free for those with annual family incomes less than $125,000 and a Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposal to reform the bankruptcy system.

And while Biden was opposed to getting rid of the Senate filibuster through the primary campaign, he changed course and opened up to the idea of ending the legislative practice earlier this month.

The Biden campaign and aides to Sanders created a joint committee to come up with policy recommendations for the Democratic Party’s platform, and the Democratic National Convention’s drafting committee adopted much of it word-for-word.