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Hillary Clinton & President Obama Are All Fired Up

by Erin Corbett

On Thursday morning, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders met with President Obama at the White House. The meeting came just two days after another big day of Democratic primaries, which put Clinton in the position to claim the party's presidential nomination. On Tuesday night, she did just that. And soon after Sanders' meeting with Obama, the president publicly endorsed Clinton, saying, "I'm with her. I'm fired up." His speech was published in a video to Clinton's website, and Clinton responded to Obama's endorsement with a Tweet, saying, "Honored to have you with me, @POTUS. I'm fired up and ready to go!"

Clinton made huge strides in her campaign on Tuesday night after winning big in California and New Jersey. By the end of the June 7 primary, she had secured a total of 2,203 pledged delegates and needs 2,383 total delegates (including superdelegates) to secure the nomination.

In his endorsement, Obama reassured Clinton supporters and the American public, stating, "Look, I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office." The video was tweeted to Clinton's official Twitter account, and published to her website this afternoon with the text, "President Obama is in. Are you?"

Obama said in the video, "I want those of you who have been with me since the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that I'm with her ... I am fired up. And I can't wait to get out there and campaign with Hillary." Clinton also thanked the president in an interview with Bloomberg Politics: "It just means so much to have a strong, substantive endorsement from the president. Obviously I value his opinion a great deal personally ... It’s just such a treat because over the years of knowing each other, we’ve gone from fierce competitors to true friends."

Obama and Clinton campaigned against each other in the Democratic primary in 2008. In his endorsement of the former secretary of state, he says that she has "courage," "compassion," and "heart," and that "I say that as somebody who had to debate her more than 20 times."