Hillary Clinton Becomes the Democratic Nominee

This past Tuesday, June 7, Hillary Clinton won the California, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota primaries. This huge feat essentially clinched her title as the nominee for the Democratic Party for the impending 2016 Presidential Election.

Though many – especially those who have been “feeling the Bern” these last few months – have been in denial about the impending Clinton era, a new page has turned in the tumultuous race towards the White House. Where the Democratic Party has previously been divided between its two front-runners, Clinton and Sanders, the political mass is now uniting against the horrific force that is the probable GOP nominee, Donald J. Trump. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders recently announced that he is pledging his allegiance to the Clinton campaign in order to unite voters.

Over the past few weeks, some Bernie supporters have been claiming that if Sanders isn’t on the ticket, they won’t be voting at all. The Vermont Senator is working hard to dissuade this attitude – surely, anybody is better than Donald Trump. He is encouraging his supporters to give their vote to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the hopes that she will be the next President of the United States.

It is no secret that Bernie Sanders believes that Donald Trump as president would be a “disaster”. He has pledged himself to “work as hard as [he] can to make sure that Donald Trump does not become President of the United States.” Shortly after his announcement of his allegiance to his former competitor, Sanders said to reporters, “I look forward to meeting with [Clinton] in the near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump to create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1%.” His voice is an extremely crucial one. Sanders got unprecedented numbers of young voters involved in nationwide politics, which is was truly no easy task. He is a man that the youth of the Untied States will listen to. The fact that he has chosen to yield this power and give it to Hillary Clinton speaks volumes to his opinion of what she will be capable of in the Oval Office.

Sanders is not the only figure jumping on the Clinton train a bit late – both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden formally endorsed Clinton after months of impartiality.

“They said in the beginning that they would not put their thumb on the scales and they kept their word … I appreciate that very, very much,” Sanders said.

Even if Hillary Clinton is not inaugurated next January, this is still a historic moment in American history. Her name on the Democratic ballot marks a tremendous achievement for women everywhere. Hillary Clinton will forever be known as the first woman to win the presidential nomination for a major party. In a recent video released by the White House, President Obama spoke fondly of Clinton and her great accomplishment. “I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office,” he congratulated her.

Obama is very serious about this upcoming election. He has not been particularly subtle about his opinions of Donald Trump, nor has he been shy in saying that the Republican candidate would not make a good president. During a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the current President had this to say:

“My hope is, is that over the next couple of weeks, we’re able to pull things together … The main role I’m going to be playing in this process is to remind the American people that this is a serious job. You know, this is not reality TV. I’ve seen the decisions that have to be made and the work that has to be done. And I have a lot of confidence that if the American people are reminded of what’s at stake and all the incredible important issues that we gotta get right, that they’re gonna make a good choice. That’s what they usually do.”

Clinton only has positive to things to say of her former rival. During her victory speech on the evening of June 7, she was extremely complimentary of the Vermont Senator’s efforts and his campaign. “Let there be no mistake,” she said. “Senator Sanders, his campaign, and the vigorous debate that we’ve had about how to raise incomes, reduce inequality, and increase upward mobility, have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America.”

Hopefully, the endorsements of multiple prominent Democrats will help Hillary Clinton win enough votes to take down the Goliath that is Donald J. Trump. The GOP front-runner is a nightmare to the Democratic voting demographic – with any luck, those who support Bernie Sanders will realize that they need to unite behind Hillary Clinton if they want Trump to remain out of power.

Featured Image via Rex Shutterstock/Matt Baron