Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday acknowledged that “it’s going to be a very steep road” to defeat former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, discussing in frank terms the challenges facing his already lagging campaign amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The remarks from Sanders came during an interview with NPR that aired on Friday, during which the senator was pressed on whether he would continue his White House bid despite Biden’s virtually insurmountable delegate lead and the frozen nature of the primary race.


“We are assessing the situation we’re in,” Sanders said. “It’s changing every day because elections are being delayed. We don’t hold rallies, obviously. We don’t do door-to-door campaigning, which hundreds of thousands of volunteers had been doing. We’re doing a virtual campaign, if you like. But right now, we’re focusing on the health care and economic crisis facing the country.”