U.S. President Barack Obama has endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to be the next president of the United States.
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"I want to congratulate Hillary Clinton on making history as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States," Obama said Thursday.
Obama has consistently praised his former secretary of state. His comments came after meeting with her rival for the Democratic nomination Bernie Sanders, who has voiced support for beating Donald Trump but hasn't yet backed Clinton.
"I'm with her," Obama said. "I'm fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary."
Obama added that while Sanders and Clinton were foes in the primaries, they are both patriots that have made the Democratic Party stronger.
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Obama said Sanders had run an incredible campaign and helped raise awareness of issues like economic inequality and the influence of money in politics, as well as bringing young people into the voting process.
Sanders, when asked about Obama's endorsement, declined to directly comment.
“I look forward to meeting with (Hillary Clinton) in the near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump," Sanders said, "and to create a government which represents all of us, and not just the 1 percent."
On Monday, AP declared Clinton the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, saying she now had enough delegates to clinch the nomination.