WASHINGTON—Nearing the end of a lengthy primary fight, Democrats are coalescing around Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and looking to reunite the party through a carefully orchestrated plan aimed at nudging rival Bernie Sanders to make his exit.
President Barack Obama’s endorsement of his former secretary of state on Thursday headlined a day of unity for Democrats as the party prepares for Republican Donald Trump. Amid the message of harmony, Sanders crisscrossed the nation’s capital and received praise in meetings with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Democratic leaders.
On Thursday night, Sanders’ District of Columbia rally outside RFK Stadium didn’t mention Clinton and didn’t repeat his calls to persuade superdelegates to support him or his plans for a contested convention in Philadelphia. The Vermont senator barely mentioned Tuesday’s primary election in the city, the last on the Democratic calendar.
“It would be extraordinary if the people of Washington, our nation’s capital, stood up and told the world that they are ready to lead this country into a political revolution,” Sanders said in the final sentence of his hourlong address.
Democrats are wary that divisions that emerged between Clinton and Sanders during the primaries might spill out during next month’s Democratic National Convention or provide an opening to Trump, who is on course to become the Republican nominee. So unity has become Job 1 in the party.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined that effort Thursday evening, endorsing Clinton and signaling to many of Sanders’ supporters that it’s time to unite around the party’s presumptive nominee.
