President Barack Obama endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in a video released Thursday on Clinton’s website.
“I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office,” Obama said in the video.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) met with Obama at the White House before Obama’s video endorsement, after which Sanders assured reporters that he intended to stay in the race.
“I want those of you who have been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that I’m with her. I am fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary,” Obama said in the video.
The Clinton campaign told Bloomberg News that Obama will campaign alongside Clinton in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Obama said that Clinton had the “courage, the compassion and the heart to get the job done.”
Clinton declared herself the presumptive nominee on Tuesday after two primary wins. She said Wednesday that she would reach out to Sanders’ supporters to get their votes and defeat presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump in the general election.
Clinton said she was “honored” to have Obama’s endorsement:
Honored to have you with me, @POTUS. I’m fired up and ready to go! -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 9, 2016
Clinton told Bloomberg News in an embargoed interview timed to the video’s release that she valued Obama’s opinion “a great deal personally.”
“It just means so much to have a strong, substantive endorsement from the president. Obviously I value his opinion a great deal personally,” Clinton told Bloomberg. “It’s just such a treat because over the years of knowing each other, we’ve gone from fierce competitors to true friends.”
Obama said Sanders has run an “incredible campaign” for encouraging people to vote and that he thanked Sanders in their meeting for bringing attention to various issues, including economic inequality and money in politics.
“And if we all common together in common effort I’m convinced we won’t just win in November, we’ll build on the progress we’ve made and we will win a brighter future for this country that we love,” Obama said.
Watch the video below:
