Warren Endorses Clinton: 'She's a Fighter, a Fighter With Guts'

By Jessie Hellmann, The Hill

10 June 16

en. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) formally endorsed Hillary Clinton's presidential bid Thursday after months of remaining neutral in the Democratic primary.

“I’m ready,” Warren told The Boston Globe Thursday. “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 said she's getting behind Clinton because "she’s a fighter, a fighter with guts."

"I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States and make sure Donald Trump never gets any place close to the White House," Warren said on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" Thursday night.

Warren said Democrats are often too soft and willing to compromise while waiting patiently for change, but the party needs a leader like Clinton who can fight for it.

"Having a female fighter in the lead is exactly what this country needs," Warren said.

"For 25 years ... the right wing has been throwing everything they possibly can at her. What she's done is she gets back up, and she gets back in the fight.

"You also have to be willing to throw a punch, and there are a lot of things people say about Hillary Clinton, but nobody says she doesn't know how to throw a punch."

Warren also heaped praise upon fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders, saying he has helped bring in millions of voters to the Democratic Party.

"He brought millions of people into the political process. Millions into the Democratic party, and for me, that's what this is all about," Warren told Maddow. "I also think what Bernie Sanders did was just powerfully important. He ran a campaign from the heart, and he ran a campaign where he took those issues and really thrust them into the spotlight."

The move could ease the minds of progressive voters who are reluctant to get behind Clinton and help unify the Democratic Party heading into the general election.

Warren, a liberal stalwart and favorite of progressive voters, has been a rumored VP pick for Clinton, though she hasn't explicitly expressed interest in the position. But when asked by Maddow if she thinks she's capable of doing the job, she responded, "Yes I do."

Still, Warren has taken on a guard dog role for the Democratic Party in recent weeks, biting back at presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump over his policy positions and vowing to keep his "toxic stew of hatred and insecurity" out of the White House.

Just before her endorsement, she delivered a scathing speech in Washington, calling Trump a "thin-skinned, racist bully."

Warren's backing follows a long-awaited endorsement from President Obama Thursday in which he called Clinton one of the most qualified candidates ever to run for office.

"I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office," he said in a video.

And Vice President Joe Biden also signaled his endorsement of Clinton, saying in a speech that she would be the next president, "God willing."

Sanders has yet to concede and in a rally in Washington, D.C., Thursday after a meeting with Obama, he made no mention of Clinton or his quest to flip superdelegates but didn't deviate from his usual campaign speech.

Clinton and Sanders will face off in the final primary Tuesday in D.C.