Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders formally declared an end to their political rivalry Tuesday, joining forces to take on a shared enemy: Donald Trump.
“I have come here to make it as clear as possible why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton and why she must become our next president,” Sanders said at a joint rally here. “Secretary Clinton has won the Democratic nomination and I congratulate her for that.”
The 74-year-old self-described democratic socialist, who has been a thorn in Clinton’s side over the last year, pledged to support his former rival through Election Day: “I intend to do everything I can to make certain she will be the next president of the United States.”
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But there appeared to be little natural chemistry between Clinton and Sanders and their body language was noticeably stiff. The two avoided physical contact after first walking on stage together, and Sanders, in his 30-minute speech, repeatedly mentioned Clinton by name without acknowledging that she was standing next to him looking on.
After concluding his speech, Sanders appeared to move in for a handshake — which Clinton ignored by stretching out her arms and offering a hug, instead.
“We are joining forces to defeat Donald Trump!” Clinton declared. “I can’t help but say how much more enjoyable this election is going to be when we are on the same side. You know what? We are stronger together!”
And even as she struck a victorious tone, Clinton also repeatedly and directly addressed the Sanders supporters in the high school gymnasium.
She walked through a number of policy issues where Sanders had pulled her to the left during the course of the election — minimum wage; the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, college affordability — to make a broader concession: the movement that Sanders created was nothing short of a political revolution.
“Sen. Sanders has brought people off the sidelines and into the political process. He has energized and inspired a generation of young people who care deeply about our country,” she said. “To everyone here and everyone cross the country who poured your heart and soul into Sen. Sanders’ campaign: Thank you.”
The long-anticipated unity event, coming less than two weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention, effectively puts to rest Democratic fears of a political nightmare scenario: that Sanders might sit on his hands in the general election, or worse, run as a third-party candidate on the left.
Clinton aides are confident that Sanders — who excited the liberal base and won young voters by large margins during the primary — could be a potent weapon against Trump and help Clinton rev up liberal voters.
But even at an occasion meant to turn the page on their primary battle, Sanders reminded Clinton, who stood next to him on stage, of the millions of Americans who had rejected her.
“Let me begin by thanking the 13 million Americans who voted for me during the Democratic primaries,” Sanders said. “Our campaign won the primaries and caucuses in 22 states, and when the roll call at the Democratic National Convention is announced, it will show that we won almost 1,900 delegates.”
Tuesday’s event is the byproduct of weeks of conversations between Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager, and Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ top and most trusted aide.
Aides and advisers said that while Sanders and Clinton’s June meeting in Washington, D.C., laid the groundwork for the New Hampshire event, it was Mook and Weaver who made the cooperation between the campaigns possible. After Clinton and Sanders left their meeting at the Hilton, Mook and Weaver stayed for two hours to discuss how to work together.
The two campaign managers would continue to talk daily, a Clinton aide said, and Mook traveled to Burlington, Vermont — where Sanders’ campaign is headquartered — last month so that the two could meet at the Farmhouse Tap and Grill to continue their work together.
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With Mook munching on a salad and Weaver eating a burger, the two hammered out how Clinton and Sanders could come together for an event like Tuesday’s rally – and how the rivals could work together going forward. Mook also began working directly with Jane Sanders, the senator’s wife, in the lead up to policy Clinton’s announcements on college affordability and healthcare that moved her closer to Sanders’ positions.
Tuesday’s endorsement will help Clinton “enormously,” said former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, a Clinton supporter who co-chairs the party’s Rules Committee.
And in a nod to Sanders’s successful fundraising efforts that brought in millions of dollars from small donors, with at one time an average donation of $27, Clinton’s campaign has made $27 an option on its online donor page.
Hard feelings still persist among Sanders backers
But converting all Sanders fans may be impossible.
“Given, frankly, some of the criticism that he made, I think it will take work to get all of them there,” Frank said.
At the rally, where both Sanders and Clinton signs, T-shirts and buttons dotted the crowd, there were plenty of Sanders loyalists who said they are not sold on Clinton — and might never convert.
Marie Clark, a Sanders supporter from Laconia, New Hampshire, said she remains devoted to Sanders — or no one. “I’m Bernie or Bust,” said Clark, who plans to write Sanders in.
Asked whether she thought that would help Trump, she said, “I think people need to vote for something rather than against something.”
“I want to vote for someone who has integrity, someone who has been consistent for 40 years,” Clark said. “I will always support a political revolution.”
Patti Covino drove from Vermont to attend Tuesday’s event and held a sign that read: “Only Bernie.”
“I would follow Bernie to the ends of the earth, but I will never follow him to Hillary,” Covino said. “I’m not voting for Trump, I will write Bernie in. It doesn’t matter what he says.”
Trump has sought to appeal to Sanders supporters, saying he better represents Americans angry at the political establishment than Clinton does. Clinton believes Sanders can capture those attracted to Trump, especially in states the senator won such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin.
In advance of the event, Trump criticized the endorsement on Twitter, saying Sanders, “totally sold out to Crooked Hillary Clinton.”
“I am somewhat surprised that Bernie Sanders was not true to himself and his supporters. They are not happy that he is selling out!” Trump tweeted.
(CNN)
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