Joe Biden: AOC-linked progressive group blasts 2020 candidate as ‘old guard’ and ‘no we can’t’ politician

Mr Biden's announcement was expected to be followed by a fundraiser hosted by an executive for Comcast

A progressive group aligned with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has blasted Joe Biden as the “old guard” of Democratic politics, just hours after the former vice president announced his candidacy for president.

Justice Democrats, a PAC that supported candidates like Ms Ocasio-Cortez in 2018, declared on Thursday morning it would support whoever becomes the Democratic nominee — but claimed candidates such as Mr Biden had divided America and led to the election of Donald Trump.

“The old guard of the Democratic Party failed to stop Trump, and they can’t be counted on to lead the fight against his divide-and-conquer politics today. The party needs new leadership with a bold vision capable of energizing voters in the Democratic base who stayed home in 2016,” the statement read.

But, the group went on to blast Mr Biden specifically, and used the former campaign slogan of Barack Obama — “Yes We Can” — against the former vice president.

“While we’re going to support the Democrat nominee, we can’t let a so-called ‘centrist’ like Joe Biden divide the Democratic Party and turn it into the party of ‘No, we can’t,’” the group wrote.

The early attack highlights the broad ideological spectrum represented in the 2020 Democratic field, which now has 20 candidates with Mr Biden in the race.

While Mr Biden has led in many early polls of Democratic voters, voters have also shown strong support for Bernie Sanders — a candidate largely written off during his 2016 run against Hillary Clinton, only to aggressively compete in that primary.

Candidates like Mr Sanders have sworn off support from big moneyed interests, drawing a clear line between their candidacies and those of candidates like Mr Biden, who is supported by big money interests and whose campaign announcement was expected to be followed hours later by a fundraiser hosted by an executive for Comcast — one of America’s largest telecommunication companies.