Elizabeth Warren: "I'm ready" to endorse Hillary Clinton
Elizabeth Warren is finally #WithHer.
The Massachusetts senator and liberal icon, who remained neutral throughout the Democratic primaries, formally threw her support behind Hillary Clinton in several interviews Thursday night.
"I'm ready," Warren told the Boston Globe. "I'm ready to jump in this fight and make sure that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States and be sure that Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House."
Warren's move is yet another sign the Democratic establishment -- including the progressive wing, which has long been skeptical of Clinton -- is falling in line now that it's clear Clinton has the delegates necessary to be the party's presumptive nominee.
"I'm supporting Hillary Clinton because she's a fighter, a fighter with guts," Warren told the Globe, adding that Sanders has run an "incredible campaign."
She was one of the final holdouts for Clinton among Senate Democrats. The only other Democratic senator who has not endorsed a candidate in the race is Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. (Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but made it clear he thought Sanders should only remain in the race as long as there was a viable path forward for him.)
Warren said she held off on endorsing because the exchange of ideas during the Democratic primary was "important" for voters to see.
"I thought that the primary was really important and it was an opportunity for Democrats to get out there and show this is what it means to be a Democrat," she told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. "We got out there and pushed those issues forward and we made sure the American people saw the kind of thinking we have, the kind of energy we have."
Warren, whose rhetoric on income inequality and economic populism is in the same vein as that of Sanders, is frequently mentioned as a potential running mate for Clinton, though it's unclear whether she is being formally vetted for the position.
Asked what Sanders should do now that Clinton has secured the delegates necessary for the nomination, Warren didn't offer specific advice but said it's time to unify.
"I think that it's clear now that we need to start thinking about all of us together, and we need to think about the difference between us and the Republicans," she said. "That's for me what the heart of this is about."
"Hillary Clinton won, and she won because she's a fighter--she's tough," she added. "And I think this is what we need."
