At debate, Sarah Sanders defends avoiding Arkansas press conference
by Brian Callister
Sarah Sanders
Caught off guard by the news of Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign announcement in the wake of his Super Tuesday victories, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said on Friday morning she would rather not attend the event.
The remarks are surprising given her decision to attend a press conference just seven hours earlier with Sanders and the vice president himself.
“I will not be going to the debate,” Sanders told reporters on Friday morning.
Biden’s announcement comes just a day after he won his Super Tuesday victories in New Hampshire, Hawaii and California.
“I just want to congratulate Governor Joe Biden on his extraordinary campaign,” Sanders said. “He has been an incredible president, and he is a candidate who will fight in the primary against President Trump in Arizona, Nevada, and California.”
But on Friday morning Sanders refused to answer whether she believes Biden is qualified by background, experience or temperament.
“I believe he is qualified by more than just any single factor,” Sanders said. “He’s a proven, proven leader who has been in office for many years and has been a senator, governor, and Vice President.”
Sanders also said that the only thing she’ll be able to take away from Biden’s announcement other than his accomplishments in office is his “decision to run for the presidency of the United States.”
Biden, who has been a consistent critic of President Trump for months, said in his own announcement that “his time as vice president was marked by extraordinary service and sacrifice, which has made his candidacy a matter of duty and honor.”
The vice president’s announcement came amid a flood of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and uncertainty over whether there will be a vaccine. As Biden spoke to reporters on Friday, a man wearing a face mask and looking concerned stood in a crowd of people inside a hotel’s ballroom. It was a look all too familiar, as the global death toll from the virus was rising, and there have been conflicting reports about the size of the outbreak in the US.
Biden said during his announcement speech that he has “confidence in every candidate, not just this one