Former Campaign Manager Says Bernie Sanders Is Still the 'New' Voice America Needs
*By Chloe Aiello*
As 2020 approaches, one question is dominating the Democratic Party: Who can defeat President Trump? According to Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager of Bernie Sanders' 2016 bid for the White House, Americans want someone new. And that "new" voice is still his old boss.
"I think most Americans agree that we need to replace the president with someone who can bring us together, who can meet the needs of working families and marginalized communities ー and Trump's obviously not only not doing that, he's tearing this country apart," Weaver told Cheddar on Monday.
Americans "want somebody new," he said.
"Who is that person? I've been pretty clear about my view on that," Weaver said. In fact, the last three words of his book, "How Bernie Won," are "Run, Bernie, run."
The Vermont Democrat hasn't yet decided whether or not he will throw his hat into the 2020 ring, although Weaver said he is "actively considering it."
In the event he does enter the race, Weaver said Sanders has learned substantive lessons from his 2016 campaign that his team will apply to 2020. "I think this time we have a much better sense of how to ... put together a winning campaign," he said.
Specifically, he said they would put campaign workers on the ground in key states earlier in the race. He said they also plan to build a bigger and more diverse team.
Weaver acknowledged that the crowded Democratic slate for 2020 will pose new challenges. Roughly 30 Democratic candidates are thought to be toying with a bid for the White House, including veterans like former Vice President Joe Biden and newcomers like Beto O'Rourke.
A recent Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll of likely participants in the Iowa caucuses found Sanders in second place in a hypothetical field, ahead of O'Rourke but behind Biden.
Some of Sanders' rockstar status has been eclipsed by O'Rourke, whose unsuccessful campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz for a U.S. Senate seat still catapulted him to national fame. Meanwhile, like Sanders, Biden comes with a blend of longtime Washington experience and a progressive platform.
But Weaver said it "is healthy for the Democratic Party to have this broad range of voices," so long as the process is open and fair.
Weaver also does not begrudge other Democrats the progressive stances that Sanders championed in 2016.
"Other candidates have gravitated to those positions. I think that's fantastic, I think to the extent that we can move the discussion in the primary process around a progressive agenda ... I think that's a very healthy debate to have," Weaver said.
Sanders may have worked up a devoted following in 2016, but if he runs again in 2020, Weaver said the campaign wouldn't take that popularity for granted.
"I don't think anybody running can take anyone running for granted. Each time you go out, you're going to have to go out and make your case again to the American people," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/will-bernie-sanders-run-again).
U.S. stocks ended today's session sharply lower on the heels of rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Melissa Brown, Managing Director of Applied Research at Qontigo, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin to impose sanctions on Russia, calling recent troop movement into Ukraine an 'invasion.' Biden and other government officials including from the State Department have begun to classify the Russian troop movement as an invasion after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to two independent Ukrainian areas in an alleged "peacekeeping" mission — which the West considers an act of aggression. Biden said Russia will continue to pay 'an even steeper price' if it continues sending troops into Ukraine. What happens next? Will Putin find a way around these sanctions? Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joins Closing Bell to discuss Biden's remarks, how the West will protect Ukraine since it doesn't belong to NATO, and more.
Russian lawmakers have given President Vladimir Putin a military force authorization in Ukraine, and President Biden has described Putin's announcement declaring the independence of two provinces within Ukraine and his subsequent deployment of peacekeepers as tantamount to "invasion. David Tafuri, a former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and Bush State Department official, joined Cheddar News to discuss. "The Ukrainian military occupies more than 70 percent of those provinces still," Tafuri said, noting Putin alleged having a responsibility to defend those regions. "This would put Ukrainian forces and Russian forces right at each other engaged. And that might be how the war starts."
The major indexes ended Tuesday's session sharply lower due to escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Bill Stone, Chief Investment Officer at The Glenview Trust Company, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he reminds viewers that Wall Street doesn't like uncertainty, and more of the recent losses are due to geopolitics than inflation.
Karim Hijazi, CEO of Prevailion, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that crypto's decentralized nature will pose obstacles for the FBI's new crypto unit, but it will also make progress with items such as managing fraudulent exchanges.
The Retail Industry Leaders Association released a report alleging the safety risks, economic losses, and potential job losses they link to a surge in shoplifting crimes in the United States. Lisa LaBruno, senior EVP of retail operations at the trade organization, joined Cheddar News to discuss the impact of websites that allow for the resale of unverified goods and passing the INFORM Consumers Act to stamp it out. “We need to hold the online marketplaces accountable for being a favored venue for criminals to resell stolen product," LaBruno said. "And that is exactly what the INFORM Act is designed to do."
The East-West faceoff over Ukraine has escalated dramatically, with Russian lawmakers authorizing President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and President Biden and European leaders responding by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks.
