Update (1240ET): After spending the last two years bashing him as a Russia-approved closed communist who would lead a cultural revolution-style purge of landlords and the wealthy, Biden has congratulated Sanders, and urged his followers to support the former VP, who will almost certainly clinch the nomination now.

BIDEN CALLS SANDERS A `GOOD MAN, A GREAT LEADER'

BIDEN: HOPE BERNIE SANDERS WILL ‘JOIN US'

BIDEN TO SANDERS SUPPORTERS: I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US

BIDEN TO SANDERS' BACKERS: HOPE YOU JOIN US, YOU ARE NEEDED

BIDEN SAYS HE WILL BE REACHING OUT TO BERNIE SANDER

But will Bernie go and 'get out the vote' for Biden, like he did for Hillary?

* * *

Update (1155ET) : It did not take President Trump long to chime in via Twitter.

"Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday! "

Then Trump went further:

"This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco."

Which led him to suggest:

"The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!"

Will they?

* * *

Sen. Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign, according to a statement from the Vermont Senator.

"I wanted to just let everyone know that in a half hour I will be publicly announcing the suspension of our campaign. needless to say this is a very difficult and painful decision for me." "There is no alternative"

That's right - it's for real this time...last time Sanders purportedly suspended his campaign, the reports were immediately denied, and it was later determined that the announcement was due to a wire service error.

The decision comes a day after the Wisconsin Primary, which went ahead despite an attempt by Gov. Tony Evers to delay the vote until June that was quashed by the state's Supreme Court (despite the fact that more than a dozen other states have delayed votes since the COVID-19 crisis began).

Bernie's departure from the race makes Biden the presumptive nominee, and will save a lot of people the trouble of voting in the remaining primaries, potentially saving lives from COVID-19.

At this point, Biden has a solid lead over Sanders, and the momentum that his campaign had shown just a few months ago has been completely squandered.

And with the coronavirus now the major issue, Biden can relax at home instead of beating the bushes for votes in swing states across the country since the only thing that matters now is whether Trump can get the economy open again by June.

Now Bernie can enjoy some well-deserved "me time" after spending the last two years battling for the proletariat: the Senate is currently suspended, though they might be called on to vote once the next coronavirus installment is ready.

All told, Bernie Sanders will still be remembered as an anti-establishment legend who almost single-handedly revived the passion for socialism among white guilt-ridden middle class college students and recent grads across the country. He went from long-shot outsider whose quiet campaign announcement in the summer of 2015 garnered little attention at the time, before a groundswell of public support helped make him a serious threat to Clinton.

Today I am suspending my campaign. But while the campaign ends, the struggle for justice continues on. https://t.co/MYc7kt2b16 — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 8, 2020

The former Secretary of State clearly still holds a grudge for the embarrssment she suffered at his hands.

With Bernie out, the Dems can now go ahead and cancel their delayed convention (sorry, Milwaukee!), even though Trump has said he opposes the idea of cancelling the Republicans' convention in Charlotte.

Now all of Bernies' supporters' parents can breath easy, knowing that they will be safe (hopefully) from confiscatory tax rates. Now if only junior would stop it with this silly "social organizing" obsession and finish those law school apps..

With Bernie gone, with his 'political revolution' fade, too? While his supporters are extremely vocal on social media, the failure of left-wing media orgs (most recently the Outline, which folded this week), Sanders' primary losses, and the failure of left-wing candidates to win primaries against more moderate foes, even in places like Queens, which should be friendly territory.

And now stocks rally as the threat of socialism is defeated.