Andrew Yang Endorses Joe Biden, Calls For Democratic Party Unity

Former Vice President Joe Biden added former presidential candidate Andrew Yang to his growing list of endorsements on Tuesday night.

Speaking on CNN, Yang touted the importance of Democratic Party unity, hailing Joe Biden as “the right man for the job to help us not just defeat Donald Trump, but govern the country in the years ahead.”

“I believe that Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee and I’ve always said I’m going to support whoever the nominee is,” Yang said. “So I hereby am endorsing Joe Biden to be not just the nominee for the Democratic Party but the next president of the United States.”

Though Yang credited Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with being “an inspiration,” he ultimately concluded that “the math says Joe is our prohibitive nominee.”

“We need to bring the party together. We need to start working on defeating Donald Trump in the fall,” he said.

“I think Bernie has called out the real problems in a very powerful and necessary way,” Yang said. “So, I wanted to let the Democratic process play out and I believe it has. At this point, you can see very clearly that Biden is building a delegate lead that is only going to grow in the days ahead. So, we need to come together as a party, starting tonight.”

Speaking to Sanders’ supporters weary of a Joe Biden candidacy, Yang said that he understands but ultimately feels that defeating Donald Trump is the most necessary action anyone can take.

“I get the frustration. I get the desire for a revolution. I get the fact that it seems like our institutions are failing us right and left. I get all of that. It’s why I ran,” he said. “But we have to defeat Donald Trump in order to make progress on the climate, on any of these problems in a bigger way,”

Though the outcome is highly unlikely, Yang already told CNN that he would be “honored” to be the nominee’s running-mate.

“I’m already on the record, too, saying if I can solve these problems as someone’s vice president, a member of an administration — we just need to start solving these problems for the next generation,” he said. “And I’m happy to do my part.”

As noted by USA Today, Yang supported Bernie Sanders during the 2016 primary against Hillary Clinton. In fact, prior to the Iowa caucus in February, Yang said that his and Bernie’s supporters had “a lot of overlap.”

Yang’s endorsement of Joe Biden comes several days after failed presidential candidate, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), threw his support behind Joe Biden despite being severely critical of him during the primary.

“The answer to hatred & division is to reignite our spirit of common purpose,” Booker announced on Twitter. “[Joe Biden] won’t only win – he’ll show there’s more that unites us than divides us. He’ll restore honor to the Oval Office and tackle our most pressing challenges. That’s why I’m proud to endorse Joe.”

Despite losing Michigan during Tuesday’s primary, Bernie Sanders has pledged to remain in the race and debate Joe Biden this coming Sunday.