MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Hillary Clinton just picked up some big-name endorsements starting with President Obama.
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BARACK OBAMA: I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it.
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JOE BIDEN: Whatever the next president is, and god-willing in my view, will be Secretary Clinton...
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ELIZABETH WARREN: I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States and to make sure that Donald Trump never gets any place close to the White House.
KELLY: Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking there on MSNBC and before that we heard Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama. For more on what any of these endorsements actually mean, we've called NPR's Tamara Keith. Hey there, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hello.
KELLY: How important is this support for Hillary Clinton?
KEITH: We should say it's not surprising. But this support does help consolidate the party. It sends a message. You know, the timing is what's surprising. It's happened before. Bernie Sanders really said that he was done, and it sends a message, though, that the Democratic Party - that the leaders of the Democratic Party are ready to move on to the general election.
KELLY: Now talk to me about Elizabeth Warren. She's interesting because she is a hero to a lot of the people who have been supporting Bernie Sanders. Might Warren's support bring Sanders supporters along for Hillary Clinton?
KEITH: Well, and the other thing is that she had really been staying out of it. She had been staying neutral up until this point. It's an interesting question. I think she certainly will bring along Democrats who supported Bernie Sanders and people who really do look up to her.
However, if you looked at her social media feeds last night, they were kind of a mess with a lot of never-Hillary and Bernie-or-bust-type of people going on and saying they were deeply disappointed in her. Now, what share of the Bernie supporters that those people actually are isn't clear. It's not clear whether they're just really, really loud or whether they are large in numbers.
KELLY: OK. Bernie Sanders says he is staying in right up to the convention. Do we know what Hillary Clinton would like to see from him in these next few weeks ahead?
KEITH: They intend to meet soon. He said yesterday after his meeting at the White House with the president that he wants to work with her to defeat Donald Trump. That is certainly something that Hillary Clinton appreciates and wants.
KELLY: Sure.
KEITH: I interviewed her yesterday and asked her precisely that - what is she going to tell Bernie Sanders in that meeting that he can do to help her? And she said that they can work on the issues that they agree on.
HILLARY CLINTON: We will get national health care coverage. We will raise the national minimum wage. We will rein in Wall Street and make sure that it never wrecks Main Street again. We have a lot that we believe is in the best interest of our country, and I'm looking forward to working with him during the campaign and then after the inauguration.
KELLY: Interesting choice of words there by Clinton. Do we know what she means by that - she looks forward to working with him after the inauguration?
KEITH: We don't know. More likely in the Senate than in the Cabinet, but, you know, she's really looking here for a strong endorsement from Sanders and his help against Trump. He says that he wants to defeat Trump. That's the next step is figuring out how they do that together.
KELLY: And just quickly, is she doing something specific to try to bring him into the fold?
KEITH: I asked her if he should have a prominent speaking role at the convention, and she instead said that they have a lot of things to talk about. I think that at the convention, there are offers that can be made also during her administration and emphasis on progressive issues that he cares about.
KELLY: OK. Thanks, Tamara.
KEITH: You're welcome.
KELLY: Now, that's NPR's Tamara Keith. She's been covering the Clinton campaign throughout this primary season. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
