Bernie Sanders met with President Obama in the Oval Office yesterday for over 45 minutes. In a press conference after the meeting, Sanders first emphasized the importance of a large voter turnout at the upcoming Iowa caucuses. He said that if there is a large turnout he think’s he will win, but if not, the campaign will struggle. Sanders added that the American people want to see real change in this country and that his campaign is “tapping into that energy.” He then delved into speaking about his meeting with the president.
Bernie Sanders' foreign policy meeting with President Obama was intended to reestablish presidential neutrality: https://t.co/6FSO6GUW0C
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) January 28, 2016
Sanders said the meeting was “productive and constructive,” and that they talked about “a number of issues.” Among the topics they discussed were foreign policy and domestic issues, and “occasionallya little bit of politics.”
On the topic of foreign policy, Sanders explained how he agrees with the president’s actions. “What he is trying to do is keep our young men and women in the military out of a perpetual war in the quagmire of the Middle East,” he said. “What he has tried to do, what I will try to do. is put together a coalition of the major powers, with the Muslim people.”
When asked whether or not Sen. Sanders asked for the president’s endorsement, he replied, “No. Of course not.” When President Obama was a senator, he campaigned for Sanders in Vermont, something Sanders said he has “never forgotten.” However, the Senator and President do not agree on every issue. “I was on the floor of the senate for eight and a half hours in disagreement over taxes. We disagree over the TPP,” Sanders insisted. Overall, he said that he has stood by the President’s side as he's taken on “unprecedented Republican obstructionism and has tried to do the right thing for the American people.”
The White House did not provide details about the private meeting, however Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that the tight race is good for the country. “It’s good for our democracy,” he said. “It’s also good for the party.”
What do you make of Sen. Sanders' meeting with the President? Do you think it will help his numbers in Iowa? Let us know in the comments below!
-Bronte Price
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