Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

President Obama just endorsed Hillary Clinton in this video

Andrew Prokop
Andrew Prokop is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He’s worked at Vox since the site’s launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker’s Washington, DC, bureau.

In a video released by the Clinton campaign Thursday afternoon, President Obama officially endorsed the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for president — Hillary Clinton. You can watch the video above.

“Look, I know how hard this job can be,” Obama said. “That’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She’s got the courage, the compassion, and the heart to get the job done.”

Obama continued: “So I want those of you who’ve been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know — that I’m with her. I am fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.”

The president went on to praise Bernie Sanders for running “an incredible campaign.” Describing what took place in a meeting between the two earlier Thursday — despite the video apparently being recorded before the meeting actually took place) — Obama said, “I thanked him for shining a spotlight on issues like economic inequality and the outsized influence of money in our politics, and bringing young people into the process. Embracing that message is gonna help us win in November, but more importantly, it will make the Democratic Party stronger and it will make America stronger.”

The endorsement comes two days after the final significant day of primary voting, and a few hours after Obama and Sanders met privately at the White House.

While we don’t have all the details on what the two discussed, Sanders emerged with positive words for Obama and Vice President Biden. “What they said in the beginning is that they would not put their thumb on the scales, and they kept their word,” Sanders said in a press conference. “I appreciate that very, very much.”


How Clinton’s nomination could improve politics

More in Politics

Podcasts
The Supreme Court abortion pills case, explainedThe Supreme Court abortion pills case, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

How Louisiana brought mifepristone back to SCOTUS.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Politics
Trump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expectedTrump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected
Politics

As Trump heads to China, attention and resources are being shifted from Asia to yet another war in the Middle East.

By Joshua Keating
Politics
Are far-right politics just the new normal?Are far-right politics just the new normal?
Politics

Liberals are preparing for a longer war with right-wing populists than they once expected.

By Zack Beauchamp
The Logoff
Flavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA headFlavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA head
The Logoff

Why Marty Makary is out at the FDA, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Virginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymanderVirginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymander
Politics

Democrats just handed the Supreme Court’s Republicans a loaded weapon.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
Can Trump lower gas prices?Can Trump lower gas prices?
The Logoff

What suspending the gas tax would mean for you, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters