Bernie Sanders seemed to slight his own campaign press secretary when discussing progressives who decline to endorse Joe Biden while speaking to the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Sanders was asked about his former campaign press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, who has declined to endorse Biden. He merely said that Gray “is my former press secretary — not on the payroll.” Sanders had also scolded his supporters who intend to decline to support Biden, claiming they’re “irresponsible.” Many Sanders supporters feel as if Biden lacks a real progressive policy platform, choosing not to support policies such as Medicare for All and a wealth tax.
Gray was one of Sanders’ most prominent campaign officials on Twitter during the 2020 primary. She announced shortly after Sanders dropped out of the race that she would not be endorsing Joe Biden, diverging from Sanders himself, who bent the knee to the presumptive Democratic nominee in an endorsement on Tuesday.
Gray became a target for stringent ‘Vote Blue’ neoliberal Democrats after rebuffing demands that she endorse Biden. It appears Bernie is unwilling to defend his former campaign press secretary’s right to support political candidates of her choice, despite Gray’s loyalty to the Vermont democratic socialist.
Gray has predicted that the Democratic Party establishment will seek to replace Joe Biden at the convention or earlier. There’s reason to believe she is even more critical of Biden than her former candidate ever was, willing to ask questions about the veracity of Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation against Biden and bring up his increasingly obvious cognitive decline.
Perhaps if Sanders had been willing to fight back against the establishment in the same fashion his supporters are, his recent humbling endorsement of the has-run Democratic nominee might’ve been the other way around.