Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Campaigns in Talks for Possible Endorsement Next Week
Sanders could endorse Clinton sometime next week.
-- Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns are in talks about a possible event at which Sanders would endorse Clinton, ABC News has confirmed, according to sources close to his campaign.
Sanders’ endorsement of Clinton could come sometime next week, possibly at an event in New Hampshire.
While the Vermont senator has said he would vote for Clinton in November, he has withheld his endorsement of the presumptive Democratic nominee as the two campaigns engage in negotiations over policy details for the Democratic Party’s official platform.
An event next week would directly follow the Democratic Party’s Platform Drafting Committee’s final votes over the weekend on its version of the policy document to be presented at the national convention.
Sanders confirmed the discussions during an interview Wednesday night on MSNBC.
"I think at the end of the day, there is going to be a coming together, and we're going to go forward together and not only defeat Trump, but defeat him badly," he said.
MSNBC's Chris Hayes then asked, "You're not denying the report that there are talks about a possible endorsement?"
Sanders replied: "That's correct."
So far the Vermont senator has enjoyed significant victories both in that committee and with Clinton’s campaign proposals. The senator has applauded the platform so far as being “the most progressive” in recent history of the party and has celebrated that it includes language on enacting strict reforms of Wall Street, expanding Social Security, superseding the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and rejecting super PAC money.
This morning Clinton released an updated version of her plan addressing college affordability, which her staff said was the result of meeting and discussing the issue with Sanders last month.
He said the new plan, which includes making public college tuition free, over time, for students from middle-income families, was “the work of both campaigns.”
He added during a morning press conference in Washington, D.C., that he hoped the two campaigns would reach agreement on other issues “sooner rather than later.”
Sanders has said in interviews that he is hoping she will amend and expand her proposals on providing universal health care.
The news of a possible endorsement next week comes on the heels of his reportedly getting a lukewarm reception by House Democrats this morning, some of whom pressed him about when he would endorse Clinton.
Sanders supporters and people close to the campaign have said quietly that if the progressive superstar officially endorses her too early, it could frustrate or dishearten some of his fans on the left who are still uneasy about backing her.