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Walther: Sanders' Lukewarm Endorsement of Clinton Shows Lack of Party Unity

Washington Free Beacon reporter Matthew Walther made a Fox News appearance Saturday to discuss Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I., Vt.) "lukewarm" endorsement of Hillary Clinton last week in New Hampshire.

Walther was on hand for Tuesday's Clinton rally in Portsmouth that was meant to be a triumph of unity for the Democrats, but he recounted that many of the Sanders fans present were furious at his traitorous decision to endorse Clinton.

Walther said the attempt at the Democrats to fully unify after Sanders and Clinton had such a contentious primary was far from over.

"What I saw in Portsmouth was Senator Sanders give a lukewarm speech with two or three throwaway compliments to Secretary Clinton tacked on at the end, and his supporters standing up and yelling things like, 'You traitor,' 'We loved you, Bernie,' 'You betrayed us,'" Walther said.

He added that many Sanders backers would take their anger to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this month. Green Party nominee Jill Stein is holding a rally there and hopes to swipe Sanders supporters for her cause.

"Even the ones who do end up voting for Secretary Clinton, I don't think are going to bring that level of enthusiasm and organization to getting behind her campaign," he said.

While he surmised younger Sanders backers would likely stay home, vote Clinton or vote Stein, he said older Sanders supporters angry about prior free trade agreements could get behind Republican candidate Donald Trump.