Biden Reaps Trio of Big-Name Backers Just When He Needs Bump
- Planned endorsements designed to help unite fractious party
- Former president plans to play unifier-in-chief for Democrats
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A series of endorsements from Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren this week cemented the Democratic Party behind Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee and demonstrated the careful calculus of party leaders to unite its once-warring progressive and moderate wings.
First came the vanquished rival. The Biden camp wanted Sanders to endorse before Obama to ensure the Vermont senator was genuinely behind the campaign, according to a Democrat familiar with the campaign’s strategy. It also allowed Obama to swoop in to close the Democratic contest, using his power as the party’s undisputed leader to unite the factions represented by the two candidates.