PHILADELPHIA – Rev. Jesse Jackson said dissatisfied loyalists of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) who do not support Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are helping Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“A non-vote for Hillary is a vote for Trump, that’s a backdoor vote but a vote nonetheless and we’ve been here before. You know, in 1968 we couldn’t quite come together over Humphrey or Johnson and Nixon used the side door. In 1980, we couldn’t make our minds between Kennedy and Carter and Reagan used the side door,” he said at the Democratic National Convention in the Wells Fargo Center.
“You cannot, on a non-vote, put so much stake in motions of discomfort if you let Trump in using the side door. The stakes are very high. Trump wants to destabilize Europe, in fact, by challenging NATO’s role. Wants to ban Muslims. Build a wall between us and 2,000 miles of Mexico. It’s dangerous and reckless,” he added.
Jackson was asked what he thinks Clinton has to do to win over Sanders’ supporters.
“The issues that matter, voter-rights protection, reducing student loan debt, increasing workers’ wages, gender equality, racial equality and foreign policy not foreign to our values is all someone really can do,” he said. “We’ve gone through the regular season, so to speak. This is the playoff here, the convention. The Super Bowl is on November 8. You either vote for Trump or you vote for Hillary.”
Dr. Cornel West recently told PJM that Clinton is more of a “hawk” than Trump on foreign policy. He also said she might start World War III.
“No intervention would be unilateral. The fact is we’ll all have an influence relative to the president,” Jackson said, reacting to West’s comments.
“The influence people of color will have on Trump will be none. His convention: 2,500 delegates, 18 African-Americans. Whatever Hillary does, there will be consequences to this convention and to this party,” he added.
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