Mark Halperin Says 84-Year-Old Bernie Sanders Is the ‘Most Likely’ 2028 Democratic Presidential Nominee

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), who will be 86-years-old in 2028, is an “extremely strong” potential Democratic nominee in the next presidential election, journalist Mark Halperin told Michael Smerconish Wednesday.

After explaining California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg are still his number one and number two choices, respectively, Halperin added, “Most of the time, he’s got a ton of energy. He’s not a normal 80-something.”

Halperin admitted the country is not “really in the mood for someone that old” after President Donald Trump, who celebrated his 80th birthday this year, leaves office for the second time. Those concerns are “not a small thing, just as Pete Buttigieg’s inability to win the Black vote so far is not a small thing. Gavin Newsom’s California record, not a small thing. Kamala Harris’ word salad — [she] tried and failed, not a small thing.”

“Everybody’s got a big problem,” he continued. ” But I ask Democrats who are skeptical and Republicans of my view that Bernie is rising to be the most likely nominee, tell me, what’s his second-biggest barrier to being the nominee?”

For Halperin, next to his age Sanders’ only other problem could be that he’s “too liberal,” but the party’s mood is shifting on that. “He’s got experience running before. He’s won primaries, he’s won caucuses, he can raise a ton of money. He’d have to do two things, I think, to try to set voters at ease about his age. Number one, he’d have to pick a running mate who people felt really comfortable with, really confident that that person, if if they had to become president, could do it. And number two, I think he’d have to say, ‘Unlike my two predecessors, I will be totally forthcoming about my health.'”

“Now, I’m not I’m not handicapping how he’d do in the general election, but as a force to win the nomination, I believe he’s I believe he’s extremely strong,” Halperin added.

In May, Axios predicted the race will be between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA). Khanna is said to be deploying a strategy similar to that used by Sanders in 2016, and Ocasio-Cortez has hired people who were affiliated with Sanders’ 2020 campaign.

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