Bernie Sanders To Meet Hillary Clinton, ‘Press Her To Embrace His Progressive Agenda’

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he is set to meet rival and erstwhile Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday. He expressed the desire to know her stand if she becomes president and hoped to press her to embrace his progressive agenda.

While speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program Sunday, Senator Sanders said he and Clinton would discuss “if she wins, what kind of administration she will have.” He, however, did not concede defeat in his Democratic presidential campaign.

Clinton is currently leading in the Democratic Party’s primaries, with 2,203 pledged delegates as compared to Sander’s 1,828. She also holds the favor of 581 super delegates while Sanders holds 49.

With major primary wins in California and New Jersey last week, Clinton became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee — the first woman ever to do so, marking a major milestone in American politics.

“What I need to see (is) a commitment that there will be progressive taxation,” Sanders said, referring to his push for corporations and billionaires to pay higher tax rates. He also said he wanted to see Clinton embrace his views on healthcare and free education at public universities.

“Will she go as far as I would like her to go? No, she won’t,” he said. “But I think millions of people want to understand and see what kind of commitment she has to addressing the real crises in the country.”

However, the Vermont Senator maintained his stand that he would do “everything I can” to ensure Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, does not become president. Last Thursday, he said he would work with his Democratic rival to defeat Trump.

“I would expect Clinton and Sanders to have some joint appearances and to have a peaceful relationship. The 2008 situation provides a good role model for Democrats. Obama and Clinton were able to bury the hatchet, and this put the party on strong footing for the fall campaign,” Darrell M. West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said.

“I expect Clinton and Sanders will have a successful partnership because of their interest in stopping Trump,” the Washington Times reported West saying.