AOC and Sanders stick with Biden amid 2024 turmoil and push him on a bolder agenda

WASHINGTON — Facing a heavy dose of skepticism from Democrats about whether he should stay in the presidential race, President Joe Biden is finding support from an important faction in the party that he has sometimes clashed with: progressives.

Members of the House’s left-leaning “squad” and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are expressing support for Biden and using the turmoil to try to nudge him closer to their economic vision for the country in the race against Donald Trump.

“I spoke with the president extensively this weekend. He has made abundantly clear that he is in this race. He has made abundantly clear that he is not leaving the race. He is the nominee. I am making sure that I support him and making sure that we win in November,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters.

She added that Biden should use this moment to “lean in” to a bolder economic agenda “and move further towards the working class” by “expanding his policies and vision for a second term.”

“If we can expand on health care, if we can make sure that people’s rents and mortgages are affordable, if we can actually provide and chart out a future that is more leaning into the needs of working people, then I think we can chart a path to win,” she said.

Sanders issued a similar call in a statement about “Biden’s path to victory,” calling on him to tout his support for a higher minimum wage, expanded Medicare benefits, a bigger child tax credit and tax hikes on the wealthy to preserve Social Security.

“Biden and Democrats can win this election if they address the needs of the working class,” Sanders said in a statement. “The American people want change. It will either be the change of Trump’s reactionary and xenophobic policies, or change that