Bernie Sanders Breaks With Progressive Group On Biden Protest Vote In Michigan

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is declining to join a progressive group he co-founded in encouraging Michigan voters to spurn President Joe Biden over his support for Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Our Revolution, a nonprofit that grew out of the progressive icon’s 2016 presidential campaign, backed the effort to get voters in Michigan to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s Feb. 27 presidential primary as a way to protest Biden’s support for the war, which was launched in response to the Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and about 250 people were taken hostage. Israel’s assault on Gaza has so far led to the deaths of more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

In a statement to HuffPost, Sanders’ office said he was supporting Biden even though he continues to break with the administration over Gaza, including voting against a Biden-backed bill to toughen border security and send aid to Ukraine because the package also included military aid for Israel.

“Our Revolution is a completely independent organization and the Senator had no part in their decision,” Sanders spokeswoman Anna Bahr said in a statement. “Bernie is supporting the President’s re-election and wants him to do well in the Michigan primary and elsewhere.

“It is no secret, however, that Bernie disagrees with the Administration’s position on the war in Gaza. He strongly opposes providing the right-wing Netanyahu government with the $10 billion in the foreign aid supplemental to continue its horrific war against the Palestinian people.”

The decision by Sanders, who is Jewish, shows how the war in Gaza, and Biden’s handling of it, has split both the progressive movement and the Democratic Party more