Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren both believe they deserve the Christian vote in the 2020 presidential election.
The two presidential candidates addressed a group of black Christian millennials Saturday at a Black Church PAC’s Youth Leadership Conference in Atlanta. Both referenced the Bible to support their progressive agendas as they campaigned to the faithful.
“The Bible, if it is about anything, is about justice,” Sanders stated at one point during his 20 minutes on stage. “It is about reaching out to people in need. It is about standing up to the wealthy and the powerful.”
Sanders has previously described himself as “not particularly religious,” and said he’s “not actively involved in organized religion,” according to the Washington Post.
Warren also leveraged the Bible to make her points, quoting the Gospel of Matthew which reads “for I was hungry, and you gave me meat … I was a stranger and you took me in.”
Sanders and Warren each held the stage for about 20 minutes and promoted progressive ideas. (YouTube/11 Alive)a
Warren’s plans are similar to Sanders’: increased taxes on what she called the “bazillionaires,” canceling 95% of student debt, tougher gun control and the elimination of private health insurance. “These plans show my values,” Warren added.
Bernie seemed to be the crowd favorite both in person at the event and on social media afterwords. Not only did the long time Democratic Socialist receive more hearty applause than his opposition, but YouTube users commenting on the video of the conference showed a distinct preference for him.
“I’m only here to watch Bernie’s segment” one stated. “Warren is just pandering and brown nosing,” another added. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders Tells Union Worker: I’d ‘Absolutely’ Take Away Your Health Care Plan)
Warren and Sanders have long been allies and are running for the highest office in the land using remarkably similar platforms. Many voters have a difficult time spotting the ideological differences between the two.
However, Warren has managed to pull ahead in the polls, with the RealClearPolitics polling average giving Warren a slight lead over Sanders.
Both candidates have already faced controversy and media scrutiny during their run for president. Warren claimed for years that she is of Native American heritage, only to have DNA tests reveal this to be untrue. She recently purged all mention of those tests from her campaign website.
Sanders, who advocates a $15 federal minimum wage, was widely criticized in July for not paying his campaign employees that amount. The Sanders campaign had to cut staffs’ hours to afford to pay staff $15/hour after they formed a union demanding the higher wage.