Bernie Sanders announces 2020 White House bid, ‘My ideas are now mainstream’

Sanders, a socialist and defender of the Palestinian cause, notes that policies he advocated for in 2016 are now embraced by the Democratic Party.

By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s running for president in 2020.

The 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist challenged Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary in 2016 and said on Tuesday that he planned to again seek the nomination.

He is describing his second White House bid as a “continuation of what we did in 2016.”

Sanders notes that policies he advocated for in 2016 are now embraced by the Democratic Party. “You know what’s happened in over three years? All of these ideas and many more are now part of the political mainstream,” he said.

Anti-Israel policy, as well as socialism, have become mainstream in the Democratic party, which is accused of tolerating anti-Semitism. In fact, Sanders, who is Jewish, has been among vocal Democrats opposing an anti-BDS law, among other policies going against Israel’s interests. For instance, he opposed President Donald Trump’s exit from the Iran nuclear deal, his withdrawal of funding to UNRWA funding and his recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Freshman New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, considered a rising star within the progressive left, has been a follower of Bernie Sanders, having worked for him during the campaign he ran when he nearly beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

Sanders was asked Tuesday on CBS whether he believes the Democratic Party has come his way. He says, “I don’t want to say that. Most people would say that.”