Obama Is Privately Telling Democratic Donors Time Is Running Out for Sanders


President Barack Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors in Austin last week that Bernie Sanders’ bid for the White House was all but done, and that it was time to unite behind Hillary Clinton for the party’s nomination, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The remarks, which were confirmed by the White House, even included a defense of Clinton’s character and addressed criticism that she isn’t authentic, particularly when compared with the Vermont senator. From the Times:

But he played down the importance of authenticity, noting that President George W. Bush—whose record he ran aggressively against in 2008—was once praised for his authenticity.

Obama’s quiet exhortations came just days before Sanders’ disappointing performance in the March 15 primaries. They also preview how the president may be preparing to play an active role in the 2016 election.

Obama and his advisers have reportedly been strategizing for weeks about how to ensure a Democrat defeats Donald Trump, should the real estate magnate secure the Republican nomination. According to the Washington Post, they’ve been specifically returning to the president’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns for potential tactics.

When asked in January if Sanders’ campaign reminded him of his own 2008 bid, Obama quickly rejected the comparison.

“I don’t think that’s true,” he said in an interview with Politico, a response many perceived as a subtle jab at Sanders. His most recent discussion with donors reveals, however, that the president may be ready to abandon such restraint.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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