Obama Endorses Clinton For President
President Barack Obama has endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for president, signaling he will fight to ensure that she succeeds him in the White House.
Obama made his endorsement via a video released Thursday:
“I want to congratulate Hillary Clinton on making history as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the President of the United States,” Obama said.
“I want those of you who’ve been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that I’m with her,” he added.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) met with Obama at the White House earlier in the day, and said afterward during a press conference that he would work to ensure presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump does not make it to the White House. Sanders did not endorse Clinton or say that he would withdraw from the race.
Obama mentioned Sanders in his endorsement of Clinton, thanking the senator for “shining a spotlight on issues like economic inequality and the outsized influence of money in our politics, and bringing young people into the process.”
“Look, I know how hard this job can be, that’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it,” said Obama in a video released on Clinton’s campaign Web site.
Obama emphasized that Clinton and Sanders have a shared vision of “the values that make America great.”
“Those are the values that are going to be tested in this election,” he said.
Clinton thanked Obama for his endorsement shortly after.
Clinton, who served as Obama’s secretary of state, has aligned herself with Obama’s policies during the campaign, citing this as a reason primary voters should choose her over Sanders. Obama, referring to Clinton, acknowledged that “on certain issues, she agrees with me more than Bernie does.”
Clinton often spoke on the campaign trail of how she put aside her differences with Obama to work in his administration.
“Obviously, I’m excited about having the President’s support,” she said. “I have said throughout this campaign I was honored to serve in the President’s cabinet as his secretary of state.”
