White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday that President Obama didn’t catch Bernie Sanders off guard when he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Thursday, even though it seemed like Sanders himself was shocked when asked about it shortly after he left a meeting with Obama.
“I think it’s fair to say that Sen. Sanders was not at all surprised” by Obama’s support for Clinton, Earnest said. He also acknowledged that Obama’s video endorsement of Clinton was recorded on Tuesday.
Their hour-long discussion in the Oval Office on Thursday “focused on the future. Part of that future was about the importance of the upcoming general election,” Earnest said. He also said the two had spoken a few times it the last few weeks, and that Obama made his intentions clear to Sanders.
In remarks to reporters after the meeting, Sanders vowed to help fight presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, compete in the District of Columbia’s primary Tuesday, and fight for inclusion of his campaign issues in the Democratic platform.
In endorsing Clinton, Obama thanked Sanders for raising issues such as economic inequality and the disproportionate power of the richest.
Obama congratulated Sanders for competing in “every state across the country” and accumulating more than 10 million votes, Earnest added.
