From his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, Bernie Sanders got up to speak on Wednesday afternoon, after a disappointing night of watching the results from Tuesday’s primaries roll in.

Would he stay or would he go? For now, he stays, determined to fight on and try to drag the Democratic frontrunner, Joe Biden, to the left, so that even as Sanders’ race effectively peters out, his movement goes on.

Although Sanders said he was winning the “ideological debate” against the moderate Biden, and the “generational debate” in terms of older voters pouring to the polls for his rival, he acknowledged he was losing the “electability debate” for the party nomination to fight Donald Trump in the November election.

Sanders said he had spoken to a number of voters who supported his policy proposals but backed Biden because they feared Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, could not defeat the president.

So as voters waited with bated breath to see if he would quit after crushing defeats in primaries in the last 10 days, he vowed to attend the scheduled debate against Biden in Arizona on Sunday night, effectively confirming his campaign goes on.

The Vermont senator then previewed the issues he will hammer on in the coming days.

“Joe, what are you going to do to end the absurdity of the United States of America being the only major country on Earth where healthcare is not a human right? Are you really going to veto a Medicare for All bill if it is passed in Congress?” Sanders rhetorically asked, referring to his promise of government-provided health insurance for everyone.

Then he added, defiantly: “On Sunday, I very much look forward to the debate in Arizona with my friend Joe Biden,” Sanders said.

The candidate then left the hastily arranged press conference without taking any questions.

It was a diehard move, which may give his fervent supporters solace even as it dismays the Democratic party leadership, which is keen to unite and gear up to face Trump together.

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/11/bernie-sanders-stay-in-drag-biden-left-movement-lives-2020-democratic-election