PHILIDELPHIA — Top Bernie Sanders supporter Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley urged Sanders supporters to unite with Hillary Clinton supporters to defeat Donald Trump.
“We will elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine in November,” Merkley told the delegates from the convention lectern on Monday night. “We must be united in this battle. Whether you spent this year feeling the Bern, or you spent this year ready for Hillary, all of us are ready for an America that rejects discrimination and accepts diversity. That celebrates voter empowerment, not voter suppression. That creates opportunity for all of us, not just the lucky few.”
He added, “So let’s work together as Bernie and Hillary have, and let’s make sure that next January on the steps of the Capitol it’s Hillary Clinton we are celebrating to become our next president of the United States of America.”
The progressive Oregonian was among Sanders’ top supporters on the campaign trail, and worked on various environmental bills with him in the Senate. His words urging party unity come after a very divisive day for Democrats at the convention, as Sanders delegates organized to protest the DNC.
Merkley went on to criticize Trump for hurting small businessmen, citing his failed “Trump University” and the fact that his company’s factories are overseas, rather than on American soil.
“People like Donald Trump are not the solution. They’re the problem!” Merkley exclaimed. “He has never woken up a day in his life worried about American workers. He is no more a champion for American workers than a lion is a champion for a gazelle.”
