Former Vice President Joe Biden is trying to unify the Democratic Party now that he has become the presumptive nominee.
On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorsed Biden, and the next day, former President Barack Obama offered his full-throated support of his two-term vice president, as IJR has previously reported.
But, not everyone is one board yet. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The New York Times she would support the nominee. However, she laid out issues where she would like to see Biden take a more progressive stance.
And in an interview with Crooked Media’s “What a Day,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she would support Biden as the nominee. However, she said she wants to see a “gesture” from him that shows he “understands” progressive causes are important to people.
“When it comes to our nominee — I, of course, will support,” she said. “I also know that it is going to be important for Vice President Biden to really understand that poll after poll after poll, people wanted Medicare for All as a policy platform implemented in this country.”
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“And so what I am looking for is a gesture from the vice president that he understands that these are the issues that are important to people,” she added.
Additionally, she said she hopes Biden will make changes to his platform and be “inclusive of so many Americans.”
“As I say, every setback is an opportunity for progress, and we look forward to the kind of progress that he provides in the reshaping of his platform — in being inclusive of so many Americans who really want a positive change in their lives.”
Omar said she wants to hear more about Biden’s immigration and foreign policy agendas.
She also said she wants to see who Biden picks as his running mate, and added it would be a “huge concession” would be if he chose a progressive vice presidential running mate.
But for the time being, she said she thinks some of Biden’s concessions “don’t go far enough.”
