Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president Monday, adding the weight of his left-wing support to Biden's candidacy and taking a major step toward bringing unity to the party's effort to unseat President Donald Trump in November.
In throwing his weight behind his former rival, Sanders is sending an unmistakable signal that his supporters should do so as well, at a moment when Biden still faces deep skepticism from many younger progressives.
The two men appeared via livestream on split screens talking to each other. "We need you in the White House," Sanders said to Biden. "And I will do all that I can to make that happen."
Biden said: "I'm going to need you. Not just to win the campaign, but to govern."
Biden provided a clue earlier, saying he would be "joined by a special guest" for his scheduled livestream at 2 p.m.
The scene was a striking example of the ways the coronavirus has upended traditional campaigning. In normal times, both men likely would have appeared onstage together at a rally -- or at least done so at an event with more pomp.
At times almost jovial, the two men went back-and-forth on issues, with Biden asking Sanders if he had any questions for him, and Sanders responding by asking Biden if he supported policies that the Vermont senator has championed for years, including a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free public college.
The two men said they would form "task forces" on issues including the economy, education, immigration, health care, criminal justice and climate change.
The scene, which unfolded less than a week after Sanders ended his own campaign, was a sharp departure from the drawn-out, often-acrimonious process of reconciliation between Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
The event followed weeks of discussion between the Biden and Sanders camps over how the two men could find common ground on Sanders' key policy priorities. A day after Sanders left the presidential race, Biden announced he was embracing several new, more progressive positions on matters including health care and education, in an explicit overture to Sanders' base.