Bernie Sanders passes on endorsing Hillary Clinton on Colbert

Bernie Sanders refuses to endorse Hillary Clinton, pledges to continue his campaign and calls out “bigot” Donald Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Bernie Sanders returned to The Late Show on Thursday in full campaign mode during an interview with Stephen Colbert where he maintained that his campaign isn’t over even though he recently admitted that it’s unlikely that he would be the nominee. Colbert pushed the presidential candidate on whether he was ready to formally endorse Hillary Clinton, and asked him what exactly it is that he wants from his rival.

Sanders stuck to his usual talking points regarding free healthcare and education, income inequality and social justice when asked whether he was going to make a big announcement in a speech later that night in New York City.

Colbert got more to the point when inquiring if the Vermont senator was still a candidate and whether he was continuing his campaign. Sanders confirmed that he was not dropping out of the race, stating:

"“We have 1,900 delegates going to Philadelphia for the convention. That’s pretty good. [Clinton] has more, which is not good for me, it’s good for her. But 1,900 delegates is quite a lot of people and what we’re doing now is marshaling our resources to make sure that we defeat Donald Trump and we defeat him badly.”"

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However, Sanders answered in the negative when asked whether he was ready to endorse Clinton. “What is it you want?” questioned Colbert. “John Edwards wouldn’t endorse anybody in 2008 until somebody gave him a jet ski. What is it you’re looking for?”

“We want our 12 million supporters to be heard!” Sanders declared. He added that he was currently having “friendly” talks with Clinton and her campaign about coming out strongly in support of making public colleges and universities tuition-free.

Colbert closed the segment by mentioning Trump’s strategy of courting Sanders supporters by asserting that the system was rigged in Clinton’s favor, asking, “Would you like to say anything to your supporters about whether they should vote for Trump?”

He quickly replied: “My supporters are smart enough to know that we do not want a bigot to become President of the United States.”

Watch the clip below:

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While Sanders has yet to offer his official endorsement to Clinton, he did tell CNN and MSNBC on Friday that he was planning on voting for the former secretary of state in November, but cautioned that he would not publicly back her unless she and the Democratic Party fully adopt his stances on college tuition, a $15 minimum wage and an aggressive plan to combat climate change. And while he admitted that the party’s primary system has “many, many flaws,” he stopped short of accusing the DNC of changing the rules to help Clinton secure the nomination.

Tune into The Late Show with Stephen Colbert weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Next week’s guests include Kevin Love, Tom Brokaw, Samuel L. Jackson, Ellie Kemper and Zachary Quinto. Be sure to follow Last Night On on Facebook and Twitter for updates on all of the late-night shows.

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