Biden on Sanders: ‘His call’ on when to end campaign

by Jordan Fabian - 06/08/16 12:36 PM ET

Vice President Biden on Wednesday said Bernie Sanders should decide for himself when to end his presidential campaign.

Biden batted away a question from a reporter who asked him whether the Vermont senator should drop out now and throw his support behind Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

{mosads}”I think that’s his call,” Biden said, according to CNN.

“It’s clear we know who the nominee is going to be,” he told reporters outside the Senate chamber. “I think we should be a little graceful and give him the opportunity to decide on his own.”

Biden is expected to help broker peace between Clinton and Sanders and foster party unity ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July.

Biden’s comments are designed to allow Sanders the time and space to decide the future of his campaign. They also avoid provoking Sanders’s army of supporters, which Democrats will need in order to prevail in November’s general election.

The vice president stayed neutral in the race between Clinton and Sanders after deciding not to run himself last September.

He has often praised the Sanders’s energetic style and focus on income inequality.

Tags Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton