US Congressman, Bernie Sanders, has declared his intention to run for the office of the President of the United States of America in the next presidential election.
Aged 77, Sanders will be 79 years old in 2020 when the next election will be due.
Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont since 2007, contested for the Democratic presidential ticket in 2016 but was narrowly defeated by Hilary Clinton who went on to lose the election proper to President Donald Trump, a Republican.
“Together, you and I and our 2016 campaign began the political revolution. Now, it is time to complete that revolution and implement the vision that we fought for,” he said in an email to his supporters on Tuesday.
“Three years ago, during our 2016 campaign, when we brought forth our progressive agenda we were told that our ideas were ‘radical’ and ‘extreme’. Well, three years have come and gone. And, as a result of millions of Americans standing up and fighting back, all of these policies and more are now supported by a majority of Americans.
“I’m running for president because a great nation is judged not by how many billionaires and nuclear weapons it has, but by how it treats the most vulnerable – the elderly, the children, our veterans, the sick and the poor.
I'm running for president. I am asking you to join me today as part of an unprecedented and historic grassroots campaign that will begin with at least 1 million people from across the country. Say you're in: https://t.co/KOTx0WZqRf pic.twitter.com/T1TLH0rm26
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 19, 2019
Sanders unsuccessful campaign in 2016 was not a total disaster. He garnered more than 13 million votes and nearly raised almost $230 million during the campaign, much of it through small donations. But he will be facing stiff challenges from several other politicians who have also declared their intention to run.
These include Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren, Sanders’ closest friend in Congress, and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, one of the few members of the House to endorse Sanders’ candidacy in 2016. Also, Joe Biden, former Vice President under Barack Obama, is said to be considering to run. Biden is 76.
Sanders believes he can win the Democratic presidential ticket, regardless of the challenges he is sure to face, and go ahead to defeat Donald Trump, whom he referred to in the email as “the most dangerous president in modern American history”.
Whether Sanders’ age will be a disadvantage to his candidacy, is yet to be seen.
The international media have always touted Africa for having aged leaders. Sanders is older than Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari and his major opponent, Abubakar Atiku, both aged 76 and 72 respectively.
This much was pointed out by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, a US journalist working with Channel 4, when he tweeted: “If Bernie Sanders wins the Democrat nomination and Trump stands again, the 2020 Presidential choice will be between a 79-year-old and a 74-year-old.”