Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden in move to unite Democrats and defeat ‘dangerous’ Trump
- Firebrand senator joins former vice-president at online event, citing coronavirus outbreak as reason for party to come together
- In 2016, Sanders waited until eve of Democratic National Convention to support then-nominee Hillary Clinton
Former vice-president Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, was formally endorsed on Monday by long-time rival Bernie Sanders, a move that may help unify the Democratic Party ahead of a general-election match-up against Republican President Donald Trump.
Sanders, the progressive firebrand who last week suspended his presidential campaign, joined Biden in an online campaign event, citing the coronavirus outbreak as a reason for the party to come together.
That made for a stark contrast to 2016, when Sanders waited until the eve of the Democratic National Convention in the summer to support the then-nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Before the pandemic brought the Democratic primary contest to a virtual halt, Biden had built up a commanding delegate edge over Sanders, leading the Vermont senator to declare last week he saw no viable path to the nomination.
Even so, it remained unclear how soon Sanders, who is especially popular with liberal young voters, would rally behind Biden, whose support comes chiefly from the party’s older moderates.