Bernie Sanders set to endorse Hillary Clinton's presidential nomination

Washington: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will be endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for president at an upcoming campaign event in New Hampshire on 12 July, the New York Times reported. After three weeks of private preparatory meetings, Sanders is slated to endorse his support for Clinton at a campaign event which the former secretary of state will be holding in New Hampshire. The Clinton campaign on Thursday confirmed the event but did not provide details, including any mention of Sanders. [caption id=“attachment_2811232” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. AP[/caption] Sanders, in an interview on Thursday, came as close to endorsing Clinton as he ever has, saying: “We have got to do everything that we can to defeat (Republican rival) Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton. I honestly don’t know how we would survive four years with Donald Trump as president.” According to Democrat sources, the endorsement was partly the result of daily talks between Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, and the Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, about bringing together the two rivals and advancing the policy priorities of the senator who withdrew from the presidential race in June. Sanders’s endorsement is also expected to ensure that he has a prominent speaking slot at the Democratic convention scheduled to take place from 25 to 28 July in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the sources said. They added that it was not clear yet when Sanders would speak or whether the convention would include a full roll-call vote on Clinton and Sanders as candidates for the party’s nomination. Sanders has been seeking policy concessions from Clinton on college tuition – which happened Wednesday, as Clinton rolled out a proposal to make tuition free at in-state public colleges and universities for those earning less than $125,000 per year for a family of four. Obama endorsed Clinton during a joint event in North Carolina on Tuesday, and she is set to campaign with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Pennsylvania on Friday. Democrats are set to meet on Friday and Saturday in Orlando to finalize their platform ahead of the party’s convention.