Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden to defeat ‘most dangerous president’

The former rivals held a live stream event in a bid to unify Democrats and bring the ‘Bernie bros’ behind the challenger.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders at the start of the 11th Democratic Party 2020 presidential debate. Picture: AFP.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has received a major boost with former rival Bernie Sanders endorsing him and calling on his army of young supporters to back the former vice-president.

“I am asking all Americans, I’m asking every Democrat, I’m asking every independent, I’m asking a lot of Republicans, to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse,” the Vermont senator told Mr Biden in a virtual video event.

“We’ve got to make Trump a one-term president,” he said. “I will do all that I can to make that happen.”

The endorsement not only increases the chances of Mr Biden receiving greater support from progressive voters but it strengthens the unity of the party ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in August.

The situation is a marked contrast to 2016 when Senator Sanders contested primaries against Hillary Clinton all the way up to the Democratic Convention, sowing party divisions that undermined Ms Clinton’s campaign against Donald Trump.

The 78-year-old Senator Sanders was the last candidate to drop out of the Democrat presidential race, withdrawing last week after conceding that he did not have the support needed to defeat Mr Biden.

Senator Sanders has been trying to encourage Mr Biden, a moderate, to adopt some of his progressive policies.

“(It is) no great secret out there that you and I have our differences,” Senator Sanders said of Mr Biden’s policy agenda.

Senator Sanders and Mr Biden announced the formation of six “task forces” which would see members of both of their campaigns work together on policies including health care, the economy, climate change and immigration.

Mr Biden has not supported Senator Sanders’ sweeping big spending agenda such as Medicare-for-all and free college tuition, but he has already made several progressive concessions to Senator Sanders on policies including student debt and bankruptcy.

Senator Sanders’ decision to endorse Mr Biden increases the chances that many of Senator Sanders’ large and loyal army of young voters will now back Mr Biden.

In their video discussion, Senator Sanders said Democrats had to do more to address the needs of young voters, saying there was “a generation of young people who are experiencing crisis after crisis”.

Mr Biden’s campaign team has been concerned that Millennials may not bother to vote in November’s election if they believe his agenda is too centrist for their left-leaning views.

Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Committee said Senator Sanders’ endorsement of Mr Biden “shows that everyone wants to beat Trump”

“Our side will be increasingly energised the more it’s clear that progressive ideas and progressive leaders like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and grassroots organisations have strong positions of influence with Biden,” Mr Green said.

Republicans have taunted Mr Biden about his willingness to adopt some aspects of the policies of Senator Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.

Mr Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale said that “though Bernie Sanders won’t be on the ballot in November, his issues will be”.

“Biden had to adopt most of Bernie’s agenda to be successful in the Democrat primaries. One thing that is missing is enthusiasm, however, as almost no-one is excited about a Biden candidacy,” he said.

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Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia