WASHINGTON (AP) – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are ending the primary calendar with a face-to-face meeting on Tuesday that could set the tone for Democratic unity and next month’s party convention in Philadelphia.
Clinton and Sanders plan to meet on the night of the final presidential primary in the District of Columbia, a contest that will have no bearing on Clinton’s role as the presumptive nominee but marks a transition in the lengthy primary fight between the two rivals.
The Vermont senator has vowed to do all he can to prevent Republican Donald Trump from reaching the White House but suggested he will not endorse Clinton immediately. Sanders said the private meeting will help him determine how committed Clinton will be to the policy issues he has staked out during his 13-month campaign.
“I simply want to get a sense of what kind of platform she will be supporting, whether she will be vigorous in standing up for working families and the middle class, moving aggressively in climate change, health care for all, making public colleges and universities tuition-free,” Sanders said in an interview Sunday with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” After the discussion, Sanders said he will “be able to make other decisions.”
Sanders met last week with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who both later endorsed Clinton, and signaled to Democrats that he hopes to play a constructive role in helping the party regain control of the Senate in the 2016 elections.