Sen. Bernie Sanders Set an Agenda, But “This Is Not His Time”
Ron Fournier covered many presidential campaigns throughout his years as a national political reporter. He joins Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today.
Michigan Democratic voters have picked Vice President Joe Biden as this state’s choice to take on Donald Trump in the November election. Biden won big over Senator Bernie Sanders, avoiding a repeat of 2016 when Sanders shocked everyone by beating Hillary Clinton.
“Bernie Sanders is a man ahead of his time. The issues that he’s supported, the causes that he’s for will be mainstream of the Democratic Party. This is not his right election. This is not his time.” – Ron Fournier, president of Truscott Rossman.
This time, voters turned out for the more moderate, establishment candidate.
Listen: Ron Fournier discusses Michigan’s primary and its implications for the race going forward.
Guest
Ron Fournier is the president of the Truscott Rossman PR firm. He’s the former publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business and was the Associated Press Washington bureau chief. He has covered many presidential campaigns over the years.
“The election yesterday in Michigan and elsewhere was much more about Donald Trump than it is about Joe Biden,” says Fournier. “What happened here four years ago was Michigan Democrats didn’t think that Donald Trump had a chance to be president. So they thought they could take a chance on change.”
“So a lot of them, more than we expected, voted for Bernie Sanders,” he continues. “Four years later, we now see what happens when Donald Trump is president and we now know that he could become president. So the number one motivating force of Democratic voters is to beat Trump.”
On what the Sanders’ campaign is going through this morning, Fournier says “I ache for them.”
To other Democrats and Biden supporters, he says, “Give them time, give them space. Give them the respect they deserve.”
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