Kerry returns to campaign for Biden and bashes Buttigieg, Sanders

John Kerry says Bernie Sanders IS a ‘Socialist’ and he’s ‘surprised’ Pete Buttigieg thinks he can be president so young – as he campaigns for Joe Biden after Iowa phone call debacle

  • Former Secretary of State was back on the campaign trail Saturday, making stops in New Hampshire on behalf of former Vice President Joe Biden
  • Kerry, like Biden, went after the two candidates atop the polls: former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders 
  • ‘I’m not personalizing this with Bernie, but he’s a Socialist,’ Kerry told a crowd in Portsmouth. ‘He’s been a Socialist all his life’ 
  • Kerry also said he was ‘surprised’ that 38-year-old Buttigieg thought he had enough experience to run after being only elected to the job of mayor 
  • Kerry’s return to the trail comes after he created a distraction for Biden in the run-up to the caucuses, though the ex-senator blames a faulty news report 
  • NBC News reported that Kerry had been on the phone floating running for president amid ‘Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party’
  • ‘I received a phone call from somebody who was concerned about Bernie Sanders and was pushing me to do stuff and I said I’m not,’ Kerry said
  • He also told DailyMail.com that he didn’t apologize to Biden because ‘there was nothing to react to’  

Former Secretary of State John Kerry called Sen. Bernie Sanders a ‘Socialist’ and said he was ‘surprised’ former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg thought he was ready to be president at a campaign stop Saturday on behalf of Joe Biden. 

‘I’m not personalizing this with Bernie, but he’s a Socialist. He’s been a Socialist all his life,’ Kerry warned the crowd of 20 or so Biden supporters who were about to go canvassing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. ‘I’m not and a whole bunch of Americans or not.’ 

Kerry, who was the Democrats 2004 presidential nominee, reminded the crowd that he had spent 17 years in the U.S. Senate before trying for the White House. ‘I’m kind of surprised by somebody who’s 38 years old, decides that being mayor of 100,000 people when you win 11,000 votes, makes you ready to be president.’ 

‘I don’t get that,’ Kerry said. 

REPORTING FOR DUTY: Former Secretary of State John Kerry traveled around New Hampshire on behalf of former Vice President Joe Biden Saturday – and went after Biden’s most threatening rivals: former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders


Former Secretary of State John Kerru picked on the same targets as ex-Vice President Joe Biden: Kerry said he was ‘surprised’ Pete Buttigieg (left) thought he had enough experience to be president and called Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) a straight-up ‘Socialist’ 

John Kerry (right) appeared with former Vice President Joe Biden (left) in Iowa as well. There, Kerry reportedly was on the phone discussing jumping in the presidential race amid ‘the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party,’ a report he denied 

John Kerry (center) said he was surprised by Joe Biden (left) getting fourth place in Iowa, though he said he ‘hated’ the polls and didn’t think pollsters should release surveys so close to voting. The latest polls have Biden in fourth place in New Hampshire

Since Wednesday, Biden has also been name-checking Buttigieg and Sanders at his events, though has used ‘democratic socialist’ to refer to the Vermont senator, never calling Sanders an all-out Socialist. 

Beyond that, Biden and Kerry made similar arguments – that Sanders would hurt down-ballot candidates and that Buttigieg is too young and inexperienced.  

Kerry was back on the trail in New Hampshire after an incident in Iowa called into question how solidly he was backing Biden, who ended up coming in a disappointing fourth place in the Hawkeye State. 

NBC News reported that Kerry could be overheard on a phone call discussing jumping in the presidential race amid ‘the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party – down whole.’ 

At the time, Sanders looked poised to win the Iowa caucuses, thanks to polling. In reality, Sanders won the two popular vote metrics, while Buttigieg won the traditional metric of success, the top percentage of delegates won, over Sanders by a hair.  

Once the report came out, Kerry tweeted he had no interest in joining the Democrats’ 2020 field and ‘any report otherwise is f***ing (or categorically) false.’ 

He later took down the expletive-laden tweet, though made the same point in a clean version. 

The incident suggested that there were worries that Biden could underperform in the first-in-the-nation caucuses, which he did. 

On Saturday, Kerry told DailyMail.com that he hadn’t apologized to Biden over the kerfuffle because there had been no need. 

‘There was nothing to react to,’ the former secretary of state said. 

He called what NBC News picked up on a ‘one-sided conversation’ and suggested the individual drew an inaccurate conclusion. 

‘I received a phone call from somebody who was concerned about Bernie Sanders and was pushing me to do stuff and I said I’m not,’ Kerry told DailyMail.com. ‘That’s what I said to the reporter and it’s very clear.’ 

Pointing out that he remained on the campaign trail as a surrogate – ‘I’ve been there and here for Joe Biden’ – Kerry said there were ‘no divisions’ between the two men. 

He did say he was surprised by Biden’s fourth place showing in Iowa. 

‘I think it was something that came as a little bit of a surprise given what the campaign was talking about and saying,’ Kerry said. ‘But I think it was a surprise to him and a surprise to people around him.’ 

 But Kerry also dismissed the polls. 

All the recent New Hampshire polls have Biden in fourth place. 

‘I’ve never believed in polls … I’m not entrapped by them. I hate them,’ Kerry said. ‘They should not allowed to be printed in two weeks prior to an election, frankly. I’m serious. I think they have the capacity to distort.’ 

‘Let the people do their thing,’ he encouraged. 

As for Biden’s chances of doing better than fourth, Kerry noted, ‘People are germinating on it, they’re thinking about it.’ 

‘Obviously, there’s an aspect to it that’s uphill, I understand that,’ the Biden surrogate said. ‘But let’s see what happens.’  

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