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Bernie Sanders Denies Hillary Clinton Endorsement

by Alexi McCammond

In what has been an extremely divisive presidential election, the call for party unity has never been stronger as we get closer to the general election. Given Donald Trump's incessant comments that lean toward sexism, racism, or ignorance in some way, it's no surprise that GOP members have been urging Republican Party unity. Because of this distraction, people might overlook that on the Democratic side, the party isn't exactly a united front just yet. Bernie Sanders denied a Hillary Clinton endorsement, despite his nearly impossible path to becoming the party's nominee in November.

I understand why Sanders has been reluctant to drop out of the race, but now it's getting to be too much and too late in the game. At this point, Sanders seems so self-involved; his unwillingness to drop out and make way for Clinton as the party's nominee is selfish, especially considering he has nowhere near the amount of delegates he needs. So when Joe Biden hinted that Sanders would endorse Clinton, I let out a sigh of relief, likely along with countless others who have been waiting for the presidential hopeful to take a step back and recognize the bigger picture in all of this.

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Although Biden revealed that, after a private conversation with Sanders, it was clear that Sanders would be endorsing Clinton, the Vermont senator pushed back against that sentiment. "Look, on that issue, we are trying to work with Secretary Clinton's campaign on areas that we can agree on," Sanders told MSNBC's Chris Hayes on a June 30 appearance.

Yes, we all know that you and Clinton don't agree on every single issue, Sanders, but sooner or later it might be wise to accept your loss and really help the Democratic Party succeed this November. After all, your supposed main goal is beating Trump, right? "Let me back it up by saying that I'm going to do everything I can to defeat Donald Trump," Sanders told Hayes.

Basically, it remains pretty unclear when and if Sanders will ever endorse Clinton. The way he's talking about it now, an endorsement relies solely on whether or not Clinton will concede to the way he sees things and change her campaign platform to essentially match Sanders' platform. He said:

We are working with the Clinton campaign, trying to be able to come forward to my supporters and say: 'You know what, here's the progress we have made. Here's what Secretary Clinton is saying on this issue and that issue.'

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sanders continued on his stubborn path and ultimately decided not to endorse Clinton, simply because he has the easy out of saying that she didn't align her policies to his, and therefore he can't endorse her. This, obviously, would be a huge mistake and would be in direct contrast to doing "everything I can do to defeat Donald Trump."