Bernie Sanders Endorses Hillary Clinton in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, NH - After a long-fought primary and a hard platform push, Bernie Sanders endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Tuesday in Portsmouth.

The high-energy crowd toting Clinton signs and a few Sanders posters packed into the Portsmouth High School gymnasium Tuesday. Chants of "Bernie!" echoed underneath Clinton campaign posters that read, "Stronger Together."

Clinton and Sanders took the stage together to Bruce Springsteen's "We Take Care of Our Own." Sanders took the podium first, and opened by thanking his supporters and volunteers.

You can watch a live feed of the speech via the Clinton campaign here:

"I have come here to make it as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton," Sanders said, before being cut off by loud cheers, "and why she must become our next president. ... She will be the Democratic nominee for president, and I intend to do everything I can to make sure she will be the next president of the United States."

Supporters broke into dueling chants at times, shouting the candidates' names over one another, and over the warm-up speakers, including U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH.

Clinton nodded along behind Sanders, as he delivered an essentially modified version of his own stump speech. He inserted her name as he raged against income inequality, college debt and other issues key to a campaign that energized young voters in particular, and gave the Clinton campaign a run for its money in many states.

After almost half an hour, Clinton took the podium, commending Sanders for his tireless advocacy. That means he hasn't always been popular in Washington, D.C., she said, but "that means you're doing something right."

Sanders clapped behind her as Clinton declared that in the first 100 days in office, her administration will "make it so students don't have to borrow a dime" to attend public college. He grinned as she mocked Trump, saying, "It seems like he uses a lot of adjective to avoid specifics," as she referenced Trump's self-described "amazing" economic plan.

Clinton laid out a five-point plan to take on special interests and improve the lives of American families, while also highlighting much of Sanders’ platform and matching it with her own. She took a left-of-center, populist tack, calling for paid family leave like many European countries have, regulating big banks, raising family incomes, ensuring equal pay for equal work, expanding voting rights and reforms, and extensive campaign finance reform to ensure that ordinary Americans, with all kinds of new ideas she heard on the campaign, can be elected at every level of government.

Clinton closed by thanking Sanders and his voters and adding that they both represented the best that America had to offer to voters – and she would take that message to the rest of the country.

"To everyone who poured your heart and soul into Bernie’s campaign, thank you,” Clinton said. “Our country desperately needs your voices. We don’t tear each other down, we lift each other up. Join us, and let’s make this happen together, and win the election.”

The two are campaigning together in a city and state where Sanders clobbered Clinton in the polls earlier this year. His support is a significant part of Clinton's effort to unite the party ahead of next November's elections.

Another driving force: Donald Trump.

While Clinton and Sanders may differ on certain policy issues, both have united around opposition to the presumptive Republican nominee. Since Trump's ascendancy became evident, Sanders has repeatedly said defeating him in November is the priority.

Trump, for his part, took Sanders to task Tuesday and sought to play up the resentment of the Vermont Independent's die-hard supporters. His campaign released a statement saying Sanders, by endorsing Clinton, is now part of a "rigged system."

Sanders has remained in the presidential primary race, despite Clinton having clinched the necessary delegates to secure the nomination. But he has withheld a formal endorsement of Clinton, saying she needs to show a commitment to progressive values.

Over the weekend, the Democratic Party adopted several Sanders-approved policies for its official platform, including a $15 minimum wage, expansion of social security and tuition-free college.

Sanders tweeted out thanks to supporters just before the rally Tuesday, and a reminder that "progress does not end on the platform's pages, but becomes reality."

"The fight is just beginning," he tweeted early Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Sanders took heat from the far left during the event, evidence that many would-be Democratic voters may not be won over by his endorsement. Green Party competitor Jill Stein took to Twitter during Tuesday's rally to try and win some of those voters over.

"Many Berning hearts are breaking right now," she tweeted. "If you don't want to vote for a war monger or racist billionaire, there are more options. The political revolution will keep going."

Other reactions

The New Hampshire Republican Party had activists outside of the event handing out "Community Corruption Get Out of Jail Free" cards, like the ones offered in the game, Monopoly, which read, "The owner of this card is above the law," to rally attendees and other protesters.

“Today, Hillary Clinton gave an all-out embrace of Bernie Sanders and his extreme far-left fringe policies that are outside of the mainstream," Jennifer Horn, the head of the NH GOP, said in a statement. "While today’s sell-out endorsement included fake smiles, the American people and New Hampshire will not forget the long and contentious primary that left many grassroots Democrats unwilling to support Clinton. There’s no question that Hillary Clinton does not possess the judgment, character, or overall ability to be our next commander-in-chief, and time and time again, Bernie Sanders eviscerated Clinton for not having the qualifications to be president."

Horn said "blind loyalty to Clinton" and "selfish political ambitions" canceled out the votes of thousands of Granite Staters who cast ballots for Sanders in the primary, pointing directly at Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, a Superdelegate for Clinton.

"Hassan's disregard for the will of voters is even more troubling in light of recent confirmation that for 16 months, Hillary Clinton lied to the American people about the use of her private email system," Horn said. "Hassan's failure to call on Hillary to account for jeopardizing national security with her ‘extremely careless’ behavior raises troubling questions about Hassan's judgment and is further evidence that she puts her political interests ahead of public safety. Voters cannot trust Hillary or Hassan to look out for our best interests."

A few minutes after the event ended, NextGen Climate NH announced that it had launched a new digital advertising campaign to thank Sanders for making climate change a cornerstone issue in his campaign, "and echo his message of unity in order to defeat Donald Trump in November," according to a press statement.

The will spend $25,000 on Facebook to "target millennials in the Granite State and across the country" in an effort to get young people to support the united front against Trump.

“With this campaign, we hope to engage the young voters who Senator Sanders inspired," said Dave Seman, state director at NextGen Climate NH. “Climate change is a top issue motivating young voters, and we are committed to harnessing that enthusiasm to make sure that college students turn out in record numbers on Nov. 8.”

Tony Schinella contributed to this report.

Photos via Clinton Campaign live stream, YouTube screenshots, and Byron Barnett, WHDH 7News; Get out of Jail Free card courtesy of the NH GOP.