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Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden's presidential campaign on Monday, encouraging his progressive supporters to rally behind the presumptive Democratic nominee in an urgent bid to defeat President Donald Trump.

"I am asking all Americans, I'm asking every Democrat, I'm asking every independent, I'm asking a lot of Republicans, to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse," the Vermont senator said in a virtual event with Mr. Biden.

The backing came less than a week after Mr. Sanders ended his presidential campaign, which was centered around progressive policies such as universal health care. It's a crucial development for Mr. Biden, who must bridge the Democratic Party's entrenched ideological divides to put together a coalition that can beat Mr. Trump. Democratic disunity helped contribute to Hillary Clinton's loss to Mr. Trump in 2016.

Perhaps eager to avoid a repeat of that bruising election year, Mr.听Sanders offered his endorsement much earlier in the 2020 campaign. Mr.听Sanders backed Mrs. Clinton four years ago, but only after the end of a drawn-out nomination fight and a bitter dispute over the Democratic platform that extended to the summer convention.

Mr.听Biden and Mr.听Sanders differed throughout the primary, particularly over whether a government-run system should replace private health insurance. Mr.听Biden has resisted Mr.听Sanders' "Medicare for All" plan and has pushed instead a public option that would operate alongside private coverage.

Appearing in a split screen with Mr.听Biden, Mr. Sanders said there's "no great secret out there that you and I have our differences."
But Mr. Sanders said the greater priority for Democrats of all political persuasions should be defeating Mr.听Trump.

"We've got to make Trump a one-term president," he added. "I will do all that I can to make that happen."

The coronavirus prevented Mr.听Biden and Mr.听Sanders from appearing together in person on Monday. But they made clear they would continue working together, announcing the formation of six "task forces" made up of representatives from both campaigns to work on policy agreements addressing health care, the economy, education, criminal justice, climate change, and immigration.

Mr.听Biden, 77, has already made some overtures to progressives by embracing aspects of Mr.听Sanders' and Sen. Elizabeth Warren's policies. The day after Mr.听Sanders exited the race, Mr.听Biden came out in support of lowering the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60 while pledging to cancel student debt for many low- and middle-income borrowers. He's also previously embraced Ms. Warren's bankruptcy reform plan.

Mr.听Sanders, 78, is sure to remain a force throughout the campaign. When he ended his candidacy, he said he would keep his name on the ballot in states that have not yet voted in order to collect more delegates that could be used to influence the party's platform.

He didn't say on Monday whether he would continue to fight for those delegates.

Still, Mr.听Sanders and Mr.听Biden emphasized their mutual respect for each other on Monday.

Mr.听Sanders referred to the former vice president as "Joe." Mr.听Biden answered him repeatedly as "pal." The two men asked the other to give regards to their wives, Jill Biden and Jane Sanders.

Mr.听Biden told Mr.听Sanders: "I really need you, not just to win the campaign but to govern."

Even with Mr.听Sanders' dozens of campaign stops for Mrs. Clinton 鈥� a record he brought up repeatedly to push back at the idea that he was partly to blame for her defeat 鈥� Monday's conversation was something voters never saw between the 2016 rivals. Whether that translates to how Mr. Sanders' progressive base sees Mr.听Biden is not yet clear.

Some progressive leaders were positive but guarded in response to Mr.听Sanders' endorsement.

"This endorsement shows that everyone wants to beat Trump," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Committee that originally supported Warren.

"Our side will be increasingly energized the more it's clear that progressive ideas and progressive leaders like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and grassroots organizations have strong positions of influence with Biden," Mr.听Green said.

But others remained skeptical. The divisions in the party were clear on Monday when, in an interview with The Associated Press just a few hours before Mr.听Sanders' endorsement, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Biden's overtures to progressives on health care.

"We need a real plan and not just gestures," she said. "What I'd like to see at a bare minimum is a health care plan that helps extend health care to young people."

Mr. Trump's campaign, meanwhile, seized on Mr.听Sanders' endorsement to underscore Mr.听Biden's embrace of some of his plans, with campaign manager Brad Parscale saying in a statement that "though Bernie Sanders won't be on the ballot in November, his issues will be."

"Biden had to adopt most of Bernie's agenda to be successful in the Democrat primaries. One thing that is missing is enthusiasm, however, as almost no one is excited about a Biden candidacy," he said.

But Mr.听Sanders could go a long way toward infusing Mr.听Biden's campaign with additional energy if he's able to bring his enthusiastic following of millions of young and progressive voters along with him to support Mr.听Biden. Young voters, a key Democratic voting bloc, have long supported Mr.听Sanders over his former primary rivals by huge margins.

Mr.听Biden and Mr.听Sanders on Monday emphasized the need to address the challenges confronting young people during the pandemic, with Mr.听Sanders describing "a generation of young people who are experiencing crisis after crisis."

This story was reported by The Associated Press.听

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