
Joe Biden celebrated his crushing victory over Bernie Sanders in Michigan - and in Mississippi, Missouri and Idaho too - by thanking him for running and hinting it was time for him to quit.

'I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion. We share a common goal and together we'll defeat Donald Trump - we'll defeat him together,' Biden said in Philadelphia a little bit before 11 p.m. after his planned rally in Cleveland was canned due to coronavirus fears.

Biden pivoted to a general election argument by hitting President Trump over his handling of the disease. 'This is a matter of presidential leadership,' Biden said, adding that he would speak more this week about what the response should have been. He'll be addressing the issue Thursday in Wilmington.

Overall, voters from six states voted as part of the 'Super Tuesday 2' primaries that would decide whether Sanders has a future in the Democratic primary race as Biden has taken a delegate lead and amassed a number of high-profile Democratic endorsements - all in the span of 10 days.

Sanders was leading in North Dakota, while Biden was leading in Idaho. That state was called around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Washington state looked close as results poured in.

The person responsible for Biden's turnaround in South Carolina was Rep. Jim Clyburn who floated Tuesday night that the primary be finished if the former vice president is completely victorious Tuesday night.

'I think when the night is over, Joe Biden will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and quite frankly, if the night ends the way it has begun, I think it is time for us to shut this primary down, it is time for us to cancel the rest of these debates,' Clyburn said on NPR. 'Because you don't do anyting but get yourself in trouble if you continue in this contest when it's obvious that the numbers will not shake out for you.'

Sanders, for his part, decided not to address supporters or the press at any point on Tuesday night, as Michigan was his biggest pathway back to the nomination after Biden's slew of wins.

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Joe Biden (right) with wife Jill Biden (left) addressed a small group of supporters and journalists Tuesday night in Philadelphia after his original rally in Cleveland, Ohio was cancelled due to coronavirus fears

Joe Biden (right), standing with wife Jill Biden (left), thanked Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their 'tireless energy and their pasion' - a hint that Sanders should call the presidential race quits

Michigan was a huge get for Joe Biden, as it blocked Bernie Sanders' last best path toward the Democratic nomination

Supporters of Joe Biden came to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Tuesday night to hear the former vice president speak as he won three more states in the Democratic primaries

Bernie Sanders, photographed campaigning Tuesday in Detroit, Michigan before he headed home to Burlington, Vermont, decided not to address supporters nor the press after a critical loss in Michigan Tuesday night

Six states voted as part of Super Tuesday 2: Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Missouri, Michigan and Mississippi

Bernie Sanders did campaign Tuesday during the day, visiting a polling location at Warren E. Bow Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan

Mississippi was the first state that went in Joe Biden's column Tuesday night, signaling that the vice president continued to dominate in the south

Next came Missouri, which was called about 10 minutes after polls closed there, signaling that bad things were to come for Bernie Sanders

At around 1 a.m. Wednesday Idaho was called for Joe Biden, making it the fourth state he won in a row during Super Tuesday 2

As the results were coming in, Biden received another endorsement from a former 2020 hopeful with Andrew Yang, now a commentator on CNN, making the announcement live on the cable network.

'I have such admiration and respect for Bernie, and what he means to so many Americans. I waited for the democratic process to play out and I believe it has. The math isn't there,' says Yang whose campaign trademark was MATH hat - 'Make America Think Harder.'

'We should come together as a party starting tonight,' Yang added.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a top Sanders surrogate, jumped on Instagram live and responded to the results. 'There's no sugarcoating it, tonight's a tough night,' she told viewers. 'Tonight's a tough night for the movement overall.'

She then couched that by saying 'yes and no,' explaining that younger voters are progressive and don't seem to be becoming less-so.

'Never, ever, ever let your heart turn black,' she also advised young, progressive voters.

Super Tuesday 2 marked the first day the 2020 presidential campaigns were truly impacted by the coronavirus scare.

Several hours before polls closed, Sanders - and then Biden - announced they wouldn't hold rallies Tuesday night due to coronavirus, putting pressure on President Trump to follow suit.

Instead, Trump announced an upcoming 'Catholics for Trump' event.

Washington looked like it could be a nail-biter with Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden nearly tied as results come in

North Dakota looked to be the one bright spot of Bernie Sanders' night, as he held a commanding lead when results started coming in

Several hours later, CNN and the Democratic National Committee announced Sunday's debate in Phoenix would no longer have a live audience - nor could press attend and watch from the spin room.

Biden and Sanders are still set to appear.

They were both due in Cleveland, Ohio Tuesday night - a traditional swing state where voters cast ballots a week from now.

Elizabeth Warren destroyed Bernie's campaign with the DNC, claims Trump Donald Trump accused Elizabeth Warren and the Democrat National Committee of conspiring to steal the party's nomination from Bernie Sanders after a resounding series of primary victories for rival Joe Biden on Tuesday night. The 77-year-old former Vice President cruised to victory in Michigan, Missouri, Idaho and Mississippi, dealing a crushing blow to Sanders' hopes of taking on Trump in November's presidential race. With results still to come in from North Dakota and Washington - where Sanders is leading - Trump tweeted: 'Pocahontas, working in conjunction with the Democrat Party, totally destroyed the campaign of Bernie Sanders. Trump has previously accused the DNC of conspiring against Sanders, after evidence of cooperation between the committee and Clinton's campaign in 2016 'If she would have quit 3 days earlier, Sanders would have beaten Biden in a [rout], it wouldn't even have been close. 'They also got two other losers to support Sleepy Joe!' Trump has previously accused the DNC of conspiring against Sanders, following the DNC email leak in 2016 which showed then-chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz coordinating with the Clinton campaign. His tweet mirrors attacks by Sanders supporters on Warren following a disappointing Super Tuesday showing last week. 'If she would have quit 3 days earlier, Sanders would have beaten Biden in a [rout], it wouldn't even have been close. 'They also got two other losers to support Sleepy Joe!' Trump has previously accused the DNC of conspiring against Sanders, following the DNC email leak in 2016 which showed then-chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz coordinating with the Clinton campaign. His tweet mirrors attacks by Sanders supporters on Warren following a disappointing Super Tuesday showing last week. Advertisement

Biden addressed a small group of supporters at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, located near where his campaign is headquartered. He also added to his schedule the Thursday coronavirus speech in Delaware, scrapping a planned rally in Tampa, Florida.

Sanders went home to Vermont.

As the coronavirus outbreak grows - and with Sanders, Biden and Trump all in their 70s, a group that is in more danger of dying if they contract the virus - there had already been chatter in Washington if campaign events should go on.

Beyond just his loss in Michigan, for Sanders staying off the campaign trail could be disastous, as the Vermont senator uses rally attendance to make the point that he's a stronger candidate to go up against Trump than Biden, who attracts far fewer supporters in the flesh.

Trump, too, could see his re-election chances dwindle if he's kept off the campaign trail for long.

Word of Sanders' cancellation came first.

'Out of concern for public health and safety, we are canceling tonight's rally in Cleveland,' a Sanders spokesperson said. 'We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak.'

The spokesperson added that 'All future Bernie 2020 events will be evaluated on a case by case basis.'

The Daily Beast then reported that Biden's Ohio event was also off.

'In accordance with guidance from public officials and out of an abundance of caution, our rally in Cleveland, Ohio tonight is cancelled. We will continue to consult with public health officials and public health guidance and make announcements about future events in the coming days,' said Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager, confirming the news to reporters.

The coronavirus cancellations come as Sanders was trying to grab some of the momentum back from Biden who's now the delegate leader in the Democratic primary race.

In 10 days' time, Biden has turned around his entire campaign - winning South Carolina, beating Sanders in 10 of 14 states on 'Super Tuesday' and getting a flurry of endorsements - including from ex-rivals Michael Bloomberg, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

With Biden cementing his frontrunner status, Sanders needed Michigan - or maybe Washington - to change the narrative.

But exit polls were not encouraging for Sanders when voters in Michigan were asked who they trusted to handle a national crisis. Fifty-one per cent said Biden, while 32 per cent said Sanders. In Missouri the numbers were even worse wtih 61 per cent saying Biden and 27 per cent pointing to Sanders, according to CBS News.

In Washington state, 46 per cent chose Biden, while 27 per cent said Sanders.

In 2016, Sanders was down by an average of 21.4 points to Hillary Clinton in Michigan polls when his surprise win - by just 1.4 per cent - poured new energy into his campaign.

But polls, again, showed bad news for Sanders, with the Real Clear Politics polling average having him 22.4 points down.

And Sanders loss wasn't due to lack of trying, as he spent the last few days campaigning aggressively in the state.

On Friday, he held a Detroit rally with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents the city in Congress and is one of the four members of the so-called Democratic 'squad.'

On Saturday, he held a town hall on 'racial and economic justice' in Flint, Michigan, known for its water troubles.

Joe Biden (center left) has amassed a number of big endorsements since his South Carolina primary win 10 days ago including those from Kamala Harris (left), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (center right) and Cory Booker. Harris and Booker, both U.S. senators, already had dropped out of the presidential race

Bernie Sanders (right), pointing a finger at Fox News Channel's Martha MacCallum (left) and Bret Baier (center), had been dedicating the last few days to campaigning in Michigan

Bernie Sanders also held a coronavirus public health roundtable in Detroit, Michigan on Monday as he focused heavily on the state. It didn't pay off, however, with Biden winning

During his own time campaigning in Michigan, Joe Biden got in an argument with an auto worker at a Fiat Chrysler plant in Detroit

On Sunday, he was joined on the campaign trail again by Ocasio-Cortez, another member of the 'squad.' They rallied together in Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan.

Then on Monday in Detroit, Sanders held a coronavirus town hall with public health experts, among other events.

Talking to Chris Cuomo on CNN Monday night, Sanders predicted he could win the state again. He also argued that his large, loud crowd meant he would be best positioned to take on President Trump in the general election.

'Does anyone really believe, let me throw it out to you, you know this stuff, that a campain like Joe's, which is frankly the same-old, same-old establishment politics, supported by the wealthy, and they got all the governors and senators supporting them, does anybody really think that that is going to be the campaign of excitement and energy that's going to grow the base that we need to defeat Trump?' Sanders mused. 'I don't think so.'

But Democrats, in an almost unprecedented way, have gotten behind Biden.

On Monday night, he held his own Detroit rally where he held hands with Harris and Booker - who made their endorsements official - and the state's governor, the up-and-coming Gretchen Whitmer.

But the rally wasn't without drama, as a group of anti-NAFTA protesters heckled the vice president.

He told his crowd the 'Bernie Bros are here.'

Another larger group of pro-Green New Deal activists - a concept Sanders supports - - also showed up. Politico reported that Biden's senior adviser Symone Sanders, who was Bernie Sanders' 2016 press secretary, got hit in the head with an iPad and knocked down. She wasn't injured.

Symone Sanders also wrestled a Vegan activist off the stage at Biden's 'Super Tuesday' primary night event in Los Angeles, California last week. It wasn't personal to Biden, as protesters from the same group interrupted an Elizabeth Warren event in Los Angeles the night before.

Biden got into a back-and-forth with Michigan voters Tuesday morning as he toured a Fiat Chrysler plant in Detroit. 'You're full of s*** man,' Biden told a plant worker who accused him of 'actively trying to end our Second Amendment right,' according to video of the incident from CBS News. He told another worker to 'shush' as he explained his point.

The big question for Super Tuesday 2 was where Warren's voters would find a home.

President Trump - trying to sow discord among the Democrats - blamed Warren for Sanders' underwhelming Super Tuesday showing.

'Our modern day Pocahontas won’t go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!' Trump tweeted Wednesday.

The president suggested that while moderates like Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out and endorsed Biden before Super Tuesday, cleared the way for the former veep, Warren paid no such courtesy to Sanders, a fellow progressive.

She never endorsed Sanders, nor did she give a nod to Biden - though many of her supporters moved to the ex-vice president, the results show.