Just two days after the media declared Hillary Clinton the Democratic nominee, President Barack Obama met with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders at the White House to discuss ways to unify the party and the future of the Democrats.
Hours after their meeting, Obama officially endorsed Clinton.
As it turns out, the president had taped the message on Tuesday before the primary results even came in.
During a phone call on Sunday, Obama told Bernie Sanders that he would be endorsing Clinton. Sanders requested that he wait until after their meeting on Thursday to make his endorsement known.
Thursday’s meeting consisted of the two discussing ways to move forward and how Sanders can continue engaging voters and supporters to keep his issues in the spotlight. Obama believes Sanders can play an important role by bringing energy to the party and building on his grassroots support.
After their meeting, Sanders addressed the media, and made it clear that he would still be competing in Washington, D.C.’s primary. The senator also made it clear that would he work with Clinton to help the Democratic Party beat Donald Trump in the general election.
“It is unbelievable to me that the Republican Party would have a candidate for president who in the year 2016 makes bigotry and discrimination the cornerstone of his campaign,” Sanders said.