Bernie 2028? Everyone Weighs In
An intra-left discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of a potential (third) Bernie Sanders run for President
Coming up second in 2016 and 2020, Sanders remains the most popular Democrat never nominated for President. As he raises millions mobilizing against oligarchy, we ask: Bernie 2028?
says:
The campaign trail is a brutal and corrupting path that can age any candidate rapidly. This is a fact Bernie knows all too well, surviving his 2020 heart attack. I dread to see him subjected to the same media circus that played out with Biden during the last election cycle. Regardless of how you may view Sanders’ health, the wider public will be more skeptical.
More crucially, Bernie’s aging is misaligned as the symbol of a blossoming progressive movement. His bold vision being scrutinized under the investigation of ‘senility’ (whether warranted or not) could present a major liability to our cause.
Bernie’s rallies across the nation—amassing thousands of activated voters—marks a torch-passing moment to his counterpart, AOC. It’s time we move beyond the age debate and build a united front behind a young, popular figure spearheading a progressive dawn since her victory in 2018. I believe Bernie feels similarly.
However, if the DNC repeats its pattern of nominating milquetoast, establishment figures like Harris or Shapiro in 2028, I’d eat my words and support Bernie in a third-party Hail Mary run. At that point, what do we have to lose?
says:
Bernie needs to run for President in 2028, age concerns be damned. His authenticity is completely unable to be replicated, in large part due to his record of not being spineless over the course of DECADES. That being said, he will be extremely old, so it is absolutely imperative that he make a one-term pledge and pick a VP nominee that he very explicitly anoints as his successor—whether that be AOC or not. Unless someone emerges from the ether, Bernie 2028 is the way forward.
That being said, Bernie needs to simultaneously plan for the possibility of his age and/or health significantly limiting his campaigning abilities. I think the AOC tour is a mix of both, testing her out as his anointed successor while still being the show-runner.
says:
Back in 2018/19 Bernie was clearly aged, but in prime health in such a way that I would honestly say it benefited him. He was old, but so present and consistent on the right side of issues that is seemed as though he embodied the moral conscious of America we had for so long subsumed to domestic political wrangling. Now Bernie just looks old and while pretty cognitive fit, it doesn’t feel good to once again have him as the lead—even if it is pretty clearly just in appearance that age is a negative against him. That said, Bernie’s mental fitness could easily diminish as well in the next three years.
Consider the change from Joe Biden’s Sixty Minutes interview in 2016, to any non-debate in 2020, to his performance in 2024: it’s a Greek tragedy.
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Fuck no lol. On a serious note, I think he’s successfully done what he’s set out to do, and with that he should finish his term out. Ride out into the sunset, they say.
says:
The long and short of it, as others have noted, is that Bernie Sanders will be too old to be President in 2029. As a matter of fact, he is too old to be President in 2025. This is not to say he is too old to win—as the last two elections have shown, Americans are more than willing to overlook a candidate being a shell of their former self in exchange for another chance to relitigate 2016. I think he has a viable shot at winning if he runs but his presidency would be another embarrassing car wreck, made even more humiliating by the fact that he is neither a fascist nor a desperate compromise; instead, Bernie’s age would simply prevent him from being the fighter that his agenda really needs.
And while we’re on the subject of Bernie's agenda, I have serious doubts in the federal government’s capacity, once it has been strip-mined for parts after three more years of Donald Trump, to accommodate the level of organization that a truly effective Green New Deal requires. It's more than likely we would get something half-assed—which, again, would be humiliating in the context of escalating climate emergencies we will be facing down as we enter the 2030s.
I think it's reflective of the current moment that the best new idea the left has to offer is a nostalgic riff on something that barely worked in the 1930s, when the political will for more welfare state spending was much greater than it is now. We need a vision for the future that does not follow the patterns of historical precedent. Otherwise, we will be stuck repeating the mistakes of the 20th century, which are precisely what led us to this point. We cannot afford to do that. The stakes are far too high.
says:
I canvassed for Bernie in 2020. It absolutely shocked me how many people said they wouldn't support him because they honestly thought: "He can't win". We all know now, as I did then, that Bernie polled *even better* than Biden did, head to head against Trump. So why did all of these people feel this way? It has become overwhelmingly clear the DNC put their fingers on the scale. Just like they did in 2016, as affirmed by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and a class action lawsuit. The DNC underhandedly elevated Hillary in 2016 and Biden in 2020 despite Bernie's demonstrable strength and momentum. Even the New York Times framed Pete Buttigieg’s and Amy Klobuchar’s Biden endorsement as “aiming to slow Sanders.”
I am a person who tends to believe justice can eventually come, although it often manifests more slowly than any of us hope. For this reason, above all others, I will wholeheartedly support Bernie Sanders in any presidential contest he chooses to join. I hope to see you canvassing alongside me, if given the opportunity.
says:
Bernie is good man and good figurehead for the modern left in large part due to a moral consistency over the course of forty years. Unfortunately, he's just not very good at the game of politics. His loss in 2020 was more than just the establishment thumb in the scale. Then he tried a bear hug strategy with Biden last year after the debate debacle. He’s got pretty good moral and policy instincts, but in terms of much of the social and strategic aspect of winning as a politician, he’s not very good. I suspect this stems from the fact he values his ideological mission over actually getting elected, which in some ways is a strength. But he’s really not good at strategy.
says:
To me, Bernie 2028 is a lot like Trump 2028. He’s definitely not going to run, I have no doubts about that easy prediction—but he’s acting like it, and that’s important; it’s familiar. What he’s become is a kingmaker of progressives going forward, giving a little more legitimacy to AOC, Greg Casar, Maxwell Frost and others. Even if all he’s doing is giving people a touch of hope, it genuinely matters.
says:
Bernie Sanders is unquestionably the most successful left-wing American politician during my lifetime. His branding of his politics as a “common sense” democratic socialism is virtually the best (realistic) platform a leftist could ask for in the post-Obama context; a sort of tame, benevolent proto-collectivism administered by a tame, benevolent bald old Jewish man with a funny accent who clearly can’t hurt a fly.
In 2025, it’s impossible to not look back on Bernie’s two serious challenges to the Democratic nomination with wistfulness. I feel in equal parts proud of everything achieved by our faction and dismayed by our resounding defeat. While it is likely overblown, it seems my generation—and the entire country to an extent—shifted wildly rightwards since 2016. How could the left have avoided this?
Right-wingers are clearly participating in a massive suicide cult, while liberals have absolved themselves completely of any responsibility for the actions of either Trump regime or the American empire more broadly. Public documents show that the Democratic party, a private corporation, intentionally snaked Bernie out of the 2016 nomination, and similar tricks were employed in 2020. The party is actively hostile to left-wing goals, and only tolerates their existence within the tent insofar as it keeps a voting base engaged.
Fully acknowledging the benefit of hindsight, I believe that Bernie Sanders would have better served left-wing political goals had he focused on building a movement of our own that is separate from the Democratic party—and that would outlast him in his old age—rather than attempting to win the presidency outright. I believe that Bernie could have been president. However, in light of his failure and in the absence of a true, independent left-wing movement, we are left staring at an extremely bleak future in which we may well be spending every single election of our lives voting for the lesser evil.
Perhaps unfairly, I hold Bernie accountable for the lack of alternatives flanking the Democratic party to the left because he was the only figure capable of being the figurehead of this movement. Now, at the eleventh hour of his political career, it feels like his moment has passed, his successors are unprepared, and we are at a loss about our future prospects.
says:
Bernie’s third presidential campaign (Fighting Oligarchy) has already begun. How did we get here?
On February 2, 2021 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became our next president. Less than a month after the January 6 attack AOC livestreamed a gut-wrenching reflection on Trump’s attempted coup and the abusive Republican strategy to normalize the big lie. “I thought I was going to die,” she said. “If this is the plan for me, then people will be able to take it from here. That is the thought I had about you all.” When the stakes could not be higher, true patriotism asks who is willing to lay everything on the line for their country’s future—including their life.
While concerns about Bernie’s age rightly center on the question of electability, the risk of a potentially fatal health event brought on by the grueling gauntlet of a presidential campaign must also be seriously weighed. The Independent from Vermont already suffered a campaign trail heart attack in 2019. But Bernie shares AOC’s undaunted spirit of selfless service and sacrifice for the greater good. If running for President in 2028 means risking his life for democracy, Bernie should still throw his hat in the ring.
If you share Bernie’s progressive vision, his personal health risks are the only valid argument against running. Recall that Bernie’s embrace of the national spotlight has never truly been aimed at the oval office. Our Revolution has always been about moving the Overton window back to a position where real progressive policies become possible again. It’s about empowering and inspiring rising generations of thinkers and leaders. It’s about building power over forty years, not four.
Anti-oligarchy sentiment has never been higher. Since Bernie rose to prominence in 2015 the GOP seized the mantle of populism without governing for the people, while the DNC smeared populism as either unserious or antisemitic. If Bernie runs in 2028, he will draw in massive piles of small-dollar donations and a broad bipartisan base of support for a common sense project that actually improves our lives. When the time comes to clear a crowded primary and anoint a nominee to lead the Democratic ticket, aren’t we be better off if Bernie’s at the table with a big pile of chips to crown a true progressive champion as our party’s next standard-bearer?
ICYMI, check out these related essays:
AOC 2028? Everyone Weighs In.
Who is more exciting than AOC? Although she has not announced for President in 2028, speculation abounds.
Walz 2028? Everyone Weighs In.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has generated considerable attention recently, sparking discussion about a potential Presidential candidacy in 2028.
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I absolutely adore Bernie Sanders, however, the man is simply to old to campaign for President! Not that I dont feel Bernie is a huge asset to any ticket! HE IS. Many folks would simply dismiss the entire ticket Let us think about a cabinet position. Love you Bernie❤️
No Bernie. As an 80 year old former military leader and business executive known for my mental acumen and stamina, I can tell you that 80+ year olds are too old—that mental acumen declines over the years along with physical stamina. We’ve had enough of old men and women who have muddled our national governance. Time for age limits across the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Bernie needs to recognize that and put his considerable influence behind a strong, younger, charismatic, experienced, centrist candidate who can unite progressives, independents and disaffected conservatives; win the presidency and toss Trump and his minions in the trash heap of history!