On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders appeared with Hillary Clinton at a New Hampshire rally. As expected, he arrived in full support of his rival. And yes, he did transition into a former rival while finally uttering these words: “I am endorsing Hillary Clinton.” Before doing so, Sanders thanked the 13 million Americans who voted for him during the primaries. He assured them that the political revolution “continues to fight for a government who represents all of us, and not just the 1%.” The Bern admitted the obvious — that Clinton gained hundreds more pledged delegates “and a lot more superdelegates” than he did. That part about the superdelegates (which really got under the Bern’s skin) may have been a dig at the DNC.
Sanders then declared Clinton the winner, congratulated her, and promised to do anything to help her win. He pledged to stop dwelling in the past and look towards the future. What followed was a primer on his own platforms, many of which Clinton has adopted. This almost felt like Sanders’ last stand, although he’ll surely make an appearance at the convention. He won’t do so in an official contest, but to assure that he’s leaving a very progressive impact on the Democratic party.
The vibe of this rally certainly didn’t echo the chemistry of Elizabeth Warren’s recent joint rally appearance with Clinton. In fact, the actual moment of the endorsement was spirited, but a little bit awkward. These two have been down a long road together over many years, and now they’re standing in unity. Watch below.
.@BernieSanders endorses @HillaryClinton pic.twitter.com/VdEelOcUeo
— POLITICO (@politico) July 12, 2016
Then this happened.
Unity is hard pic.twitter.com/yX5wPmJ1vu
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) July 12, 2016