Following a meeting with President Obama at the White House on Thursday, Bernie Sanders said he will speak with his democratic rival, Hilary Clinton, about how to defeat presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the general election in November. President Obama also publicly endorsed Hilary Clinton for president on Thursday.

Sanders declined to endorse Clinton or drop out of the presidential race, saying he will "of course be competing in the DC primary", which takes place on Tuesday. The Vermont senator spoke for a brief time to reporters, taking the time to thank President Obama and Vice President Biden for having the meeting and did not take questions from the press.

The meeting on Thursday was perceived to entail a discussion on how Sanders will end his presidential campaign and how he will move forward. Wasting no time on attacking Trump, Sanders said he will do everything he can to stop the presumptive GOP nominee from winning the presidency.

In a noticeable change since the recent speeches he's given, Sanders did not mention the Democratic National Convention when speaking to reporters after the meeting. Sanders has vowed previously to take his presidential campaign to the convention in Philadelphia in July.

Even though Sanders did not congratulate or recognize Clinton as the Democratic party's presumptive nominee, he said that he looks forward to meeting with Clinton to "see how we can work together" to defeat Trump. Sanders also said that a Trump presidency would be a "disaster".

Sanders' refusal to drop out of the presidential race comes after several top democrats have harshly criticized Sanders including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who has said publicly that Sanders should "give up", and Barney Frank, co-chairman of the Democratic party's Rules Committee. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Thursday that Sanders has every right to continue his presidential campaign into the Democratic National Convention.

Perhaps Sanders can help unify the party, as many Democrats still remain uninspired to endorse Clinton. As Clinton looks to the general election by searching for her vice president nominee, Sanders remains defiant on continuing his presidential campaign, at least for now.

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