Hillary Clinton endorses Joe Biden’s presidential bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton endorsed fellow Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign for the office she once sought on Tuesday.

“This is a moment that we need a leader, a president like Joe Biden,” she said during a joint event online with the former vice president.

The endorsement, while no surprise, marks the latest in a series of high-profile Democrats lining up behind Biden ahead of what is expected to be a tight Nov. 3 election rematch between their party and Republican President Donald Trump.

Clinton, a onetime U.S. secretary of state, former senator from New York and wife of past President Bill Clinton, lost the 2016 presidential race against Trump in an election that is still the source of anger and consternation among many liberals who expected to elect the first female president but also wrestled with whether they chose the right candidate.

The endorsement came at a Biden campaign town hall focused on the impacts of the novel coronavirus on women, who are expected to play a critical role in the most competitive swing states in the election. Biden introduced Clinton as the woman who should be president now.

Biden is already his party’s presumptive nominee after his rivals dropped out, including Senator Bernie Sanders, who bitterly clashed with Clinton when they contested their party’s 2016 primary.

Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president, and Clinton his first secretary of state. Both simultaneously considered presidential runs, but Biden ultimately decided against mounting a campaign then as he grieved over the death of his son Beau. Obama endorsed Biden’s current campaign two weeks ago.

Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, said in a statement, “There is no greater concentration of Democrat establishment than Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton together. President Trump beat her once and now he’ll beat her chosen candidate.”