David Jackson, USA TODAY 
Speaking after a meeting with President Obama, Bernie Sanders says
he'll fight to keep Donald Trump from becoming president, but he's not
yet endorsing Hillary Clinton. He says he'll continue campaigning for
next week's primary in Washington, DC. (J
AP
The announcement came via a web video released by the Clinton campaign not long after Obama met with Clinton's rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Bernie Sanders capped a meeting with President Obama on Thursday by saying he plans to take his issues to the Democratic convention next month, though he will also speak soon with presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton about the best way to defeat Republican Donald Trump in the fall election.
"I look forward to meeting with her in the near future," Sanders told reporters at the White House.
After speaking with Obama for about an hour, Sanders did not indicate he plans to withdraw from the race anytime soon, and plans to contest Tuesday's Democratic primary in Washington, D.C., by promoting the idea of statehood for the district. Sanders also said he plans to maintain his movement in an effort to change a political system in which "a handful of billionaires exercise enormous power." He also cited campaign plans ranging from health care to anti-poverty programs.
"These are the issues we will take to the Democratic convention," he said.
While not discussing his meeting with Obama, Sanders thanked the president and Vice President Biden for "the degree of impartiality" they showed during his primary battle with Clinton.
As he prepares to endorse Clinton as his successor, Obama sought to use his meeting with Sanders as a way to build Democratic unity.
"When you look at the issues, there's a pretty broad consensus about what it means to be a Democrat and what our values are, and what we're fighting for," Obama told party donors in New York on Wednesday, previewing his sit-down with Sanders.
Thursday's meeting, which began around 11:15 a.m. ET, came just days after Clinton claimed enough convention delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, putting increased pressure on Sanders to exit the race.
Obama and Sanders could be seen chatting and smiling as they headed toward the Oval Office.
The Vermont senator also meets Thursday with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid before heading to a rally with supporters in Washington, which holds a primary next week.
Sanders has vowed to maintain his candidacy, telling backers in California this week that "we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice" to next month's Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
"I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight," Sanders said. "But we will continue to fight for every vote and every delegate we can get."
After losing primaries in California, New Jersey, and other states, Sanders spent part of Wednesday at home in Burlington, Vt., planning the way forward. The Sanders campaign is laying off staff members.
Clinton said she spoke by phone with Sanders on Wednesday and plans to work with him and his supporters to prepare for a fall campaign against Trump.
Citing the "extraordinary campaign" that Sanders has run this year, Clinton told NBC News that "I really appreciate all that he's contributed to the Democratic Party and our country and the issues that we're going to be focused on in the general election."
Trump, meanwhile, is making an open appeal for Sanders voters, saying the Vermont senator was cheated during the Democratic race because so many "superdelegates" announced their support for Clinton.
Sanders requested the Oval Office meeting with Obama, who has held off an endorsement until after the primary season is over.
There are signs that Obama is preparing a formal endorsement of Clinton, though White House aides said the president would not lean on Sanders to withdraw during their meeting. They said Obama wants to congratulate Sanders on his campaign and discuss a fall campaign strategy that will include many of the economic issues he raised in the primaries.
"The President believes that Senator Sanders has more than earned the right to make his own decision about the course of his campaign," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "And the President is certainly respectful of that."
In his remarks to Democratic donors in New York, Obama said he is not worried about the party coming together — his priority is preparing for the fall battle against Trump.
"I am concerned about us doing the hard nuts-and-bolts work of turning out people to vote," Obama said, "particularly young people, particularly low-income people who oftentimes feel forgotten and are still stressed."
Looking ahead to the fall campaign, Sanders said after the meeting with the president that his top priority is to defeat Trump, saying the New York businessman had made "bigotry and discrimination" the cornerstones of his campaign.
"I will work as hard as I can to make sure Donald Trump does not become president of the United States," Sanders said.
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