Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday downplayed the importance and potentially historic nature of electing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the presidency, which would make her the first female president in U.S. history.
When asked during Thursday’s debate by PBS’s Gwen Ifill if he felt he’d be the “instrument of thwarting history” if he beats Clinton to the nomination, Sanders argued that his own victory would be historic in his own right given his background and views on the issues.
“Well, I think from a historical point of view, somebody with my background, somebody with my views, somebody who has spent his entire life taking on the big money interest,” Sanders told Ifill. “I think a Sanders victory would be of some historical accomplishment as well.”
“We are fighting for every vote we can get, from women, from men, from straight, gay, African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans,” Sanders said. “We are trying to bring America together around an agenda that works for working families and the middle class.”
Clinton also pushed back on the premise, and told the moderators that she wants people to vote for her based on her record and not her gender. She noted earlier in the debate that it was the first time that women outnumbered men on a debate stage in history, as Clinton, Ifill and Judy Woodruff were on the stage with Sanders, the lone male participant.
“I have said many times that I am not asking people to support me because I am a woman. I’m asking people to support me because I think I’m the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be president and commander in chief,” Clinton said before touting her endorsements from Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
