WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Democrats should be “graceful” and give presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders time to leave the race on his own terms.
The comments came as Biden exited a speech to a joint session of Congress by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Biden, along with other prominent Democrats, have walked a fine line recently as Hillary Clinton closed in on securing the nomination.
Biden said Democrats should be respectful of Sanders, who has vowed to remain in the race until the party’s convention in July.
“I think that’s his call,” Biden said while leaving the Senate chamber. “It’s clear we know who the nominee is going to be. I think we should be a little graceful and give him the opportunity to decide on his own.”
On Monday, Clinton secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination and she routed Sanders in the California primary on Tuesday.
Sanders was spending Wednesday at his home in Vermont but was scheduled to return to Washington on Thursday for a round of meetings with President Barack Obama and Minority Leader Harry Reid, a close friend of Sanders’ on Capitol Hill.
Reid has also stopped short of calling on Sanders to quit the race, but suggested last week, “sometimes you just have to give up.”
Sanders was also scheduled to address a large rally Thursday in the District of Columbia, which holds its primary on June 14, the final nominating contest on the primary calendar.
