Published 17:01 IST, August 18th 2020
Bernie Sanders gives rallying cry to elect Biden, calls Trump 'threat to democracy'
Sanders accused Trump of undermining the US Postal Service by trying to prevent people from voting, adding that he even threatened to delay the elections.
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As Democrats rallied behind Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said the upcoming elections are about “preserving our democracy”. Sanders accused US President Donald Trump of undermining the US Postal Service by trying to prevent people from voting, adding that he even threatened to delay the elections.
Earlier, top US Democrats called on Postmaster General, a Trump appointee, to testify before Congress on the changes that have slowed mail delivery across the country. Trump has been opposing mail-in ballot for the presidential elections scheduled in November and the recent cost-cutting has triggered fears that the move is aimed at holding up mail-in ballots.
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Sanders said Trump “has tried to prevent people from voting, undermined the U.S. Postal Service, deployed the military and federal agents against peaceful protesters, threatened to delay the election and suggested that he will not leave office if he loses.”
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'Democracy at stake'
The 78-year-old Democrat was the last primary challenger to Biden before endorsing the former vice president in April, in a rallying call to defeat Trump. He told the virtual Convention that authoritarianism has taken root in the country under the Trump administration, pledging to work with moderates as well as conservatives to preserve “this nation from a threat that so many of our heroes fought and died to defeat.”
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“Trump isn't just a threat to our democracy, but by rejecting science he has put our lives in jeopardy...Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Trump golfs,” he added.
Sanders said that over 30 million people have lost their jobs and many have lost their health insurance since the pandemic began. He emphasised that Trump’s “negligence” has exacerbated the economic crisis, adding that the nation’s democracy is at stake in the upcoming elections. He also warned that all the progress made by Democrats to turn so-called radical ideas into the mainstream will be in jeopardy if Trump gets re-elected.
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17:02 IST, August 18th 2020