Bernie Sanders vows to work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump

Bernie Sanders pledged on Thursday to work with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump in the US presidential election as he gave the clearest signal yet that his quest to win the Democratic nomination is over.


In a video address streamed online on his website, the Vermont senator and self-proclaimed democratic socialist stopped short of conceding defeat, despite Mrs Clinton having captured enough pledged delegates through recent primary wins to become the party’s official candidate.


Instead, he vowed to drive a hard bargain in talks with Mrs Clinton - whom he met in recent days - to ensure that the Democrats adopt “the most progressive platform in its history” at next month’s national convention in Philadelphia, when the presidential candidate will be officially anointed.


In a tacit recognition that securing the nomination for himself was now mathematically impossible, he declared: “This campaign has never been about any single candidate. It is always about transforming America”


However, he also accepted the need to set aside differences with Mrs Clinton - whom he has criticised bitterly for supposedly representing the interests of Wall Street - in the wider cause of preventing Mr Trump from taking the White House.



“After centuries of racism, sexism and discrimination of all forms in our country we do not need a major party candidate who makes bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign,” he said.


“The major political task that we face in the next five months is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated and defeated badly. And I personally intend to begin my role in that process in a very short period of time.”




The focus on Mr Trump came after Mr Sanders met with President Barack Obama in the White House last week two days after Mrs Clinton won primaries in the key states of California and New Jersey, making her nomination unstoppable. Shortly after the meeting,Mr Obama endorsed Mrs Clinton, his former secretary of state.


Emphasising the need to defeat the presumptive Republican nominee will boost Mrs Clinton and allay fears that significant numbers of Mr Sanders’ supporters could vote for Mr Trump in November, as some threatened to do after her primary successes last week.


But Mr Sanders insisted that beating Mr Trump was not enough and promised to channel his efforts into transforming the Democratic party “so that it becomes a party of working people and young people, and not just wealthy campaign contributors”.


“We can no longer ignore the fact that, sadly, the current Democratic party leadership has turned its back on dozens of states in this country and has allowed Right-wing politicians to win elections in some states with virtually no opposition - including some of the poorest states in America,” he said. “The Democratic party needs a 50-state strategy.


“Most importantly, the Democratic party needs leadership which is prepared to open its doors and welcome into its ranks working people and young people.” Bernie Sanders timeline




08 June 2016

Loses to Clinton, but keeps fighting

Hillary Clinton celebrates her victory in the nominating race over rival Bernie Sanders after winning in New Jersey and California's nominating contests.


Bernie Sanders, however, refuses to end his campaign and vows to keep fighting for his "Socialist revolution."




6 June 2016

Hillary Clinton 'secures Democratic nomination'


Hillaru Clinton secures enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination for president. The number is reached through superdelegates who have reportedly decided to back the former first lady before voters go to the polls on the final "Super Tuesday".


5 June 2016

Heavy Clinton win in Puerto Rico



Hillary Clinton is on the brink of winning the Democratic nomination after a heavy win in Puerto Rico.




17 May 2016

Wins Oregon however...


Sanders takes Oregon, one of America's most liberal states, but Clinton is declared the unofficial winner of Kentucky with a razor-thin victory.


10 May 2016

Coal country blowout


Wins in West Virginia by a wider than expected 15 points, undercutting Clinton's supposed inevitability




4 May 2016

Indiana upset win


While it is unlikely that upset win will change the result of the Democratic race, it helps justify the continuation of his campaign.


26 April 2016

Wins Rhode Island but...



Campaign hints they will remain in race to shape, rather than win it, after winning only one of five Northeastern states.




19 April 2016

New York loss



Left with a tough decision on how to proceed after losing by a bigger than hoped for margin.




9 April 2016

Wyoming win (just...)



Sanders and Clinton win 7 delegates each following the Wyoming caucus, but AP results put Sanders slightly ahead with 55.7% of votes from the smallest state in the Democratic nomination race.




5 April 2016

Momentum grows with Wisconsin win



Wins Wisconsin, his 4th straight and 6th of 7, and gives victory speech stressing his "momentum" and describing Hillary Clinton as "nervous".




26 March 2016

Western Sweep




Sweeps Alaska, Hawaii and Washington state




22 March 2016

Split decision



Wins Idaho and Utah but loses in Arizona, the biggest prize of the day.




15 March 2016

Mega Tuesday disappointment



Despite being neck and neck with his contender in Missouri, Mr Sanders lost four primaries to Mrs Clinton.




9 March 2016

Michigan primary upset



The Vermont senator beat Mrs Clinton in a primary where many believed the African-American voters would swing it for the former secretary of state.




1 March 2016

Super Tuesday



Although Hillary Clinton comes out of Super Tuesday the clear victor, Sanders picks up four states and remains in the fight.




27 February 2016

South Carolina defeat



An outstanding victory for Hillary Clinton sees Sanders fail to win a single county. Clinton's 73.5% of the vote shows that the Sanders campaign has so far failed to appeal to African American voters.




20 February 2016

Beaten in Nevada



A better-than-expected showing for Sanders still leaves competitor Hillary Clinton with a clear margin of victory. Sanders remains the underdog in this nomination race.




9 February 2016

New Hampshire


Cruises to a big victory in New Hampshire, cementing his position as a genuine candidate for the Democratic nomination.




1 February 2016

'Virtual tie' in Iowa


Sanders exceeds expectations in losing by less than one per cent in Iowa, claims to have bested the "most powerful political organisation" in the United States.




13 October 2015

First debate

In his first TV debate, Sanders memorably defends rival Hillary Clinton, saying Americans are "sick and tired" of her email controversy.




10 September 2015

Climbing in polls



CBS poll shows Sanders leading by a startling 22 points in New Hampshire.




9 August 2015

Huge crowds


Sanders draws 28,000 people to rally in Portland, Oregon, as his crowds continue to dwarf Hillary Clinton's.




26 May 2015

The campaign launch



Sanders makes it official with an event in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.




30 April 2015

No longer Independent




The long-time political Independent says he plans to seek Democratic presidential nomination in sparsely-attended press conference in Washington