Bernie Sanders endorses Hillary Clinton, says will help her win

After months of bitter campaigning, Bernie Sanders on Tuesday offered his long-awaited endorsement for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, saying he would work hard to help his former rival win the White House.

The joint appearance at a high school in Portsmouth, New Hampshire — their first — was the culmination of weeks of talks between the two campaigns aimed at unifying the party to most effectively take on Republican Donald Trump in November.

“Secretary Clinton has won the Democratic nominating process, and I congratulate her for that,” Mr Sanders told a cheering crowd, with Ms Clinton at his side.

“She will be the Democratic nominee for President and I intend to do everything I can to make certain she will be the next President of the United States.” The 74-year-old Sanders, a US Senator from Vermont, offered voters a litany of reasons why the 68-year-old former secretary of state is a better choice than the 70-year-old Manhattan real estate mogul.

“If anyone out there thinks that this election is not important, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump will nominate, and what that means to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country,” Mr Sanders said.

Putting aside the acrimony, Ms Clinton thanked Mr Sanders for his endorsement — even if their body language did not exude warmth and was downright awkward at times.

“I am proud to be fighting alongside you,” she said. “We are stronger together.”

Mr Trump, always quick to criticise his rivals, tweeted hours before Mr Sanders’ official endorsement of Ms Clinton: “Bernie Sanders, who has lost most of his leverage, has totally sold out to crooked Hillary Clinton. He will endorse her today — fans angry!”