Former President Obama praised Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 Biden's fiscal program: What is the likely market impact? McConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security MORE (I-Vt.) in his endorsement of former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg What Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Biden says Ginsburg successor should be picked by candidate who wins on Nov. 3 MORE Tuesday.

Sanders exited the Democratic presidential primary race last week, paving the way for Biden to win the nomination. The two men represent opposite ends of the party’s ideological spectrum and were the last standing in a historically crowded primary.

In the early caucus states Sanders ended up well ahead of Biden, but as Super Tuesday rolled around the former vice president began to gain a heavy lead. Obama stayed relatively silent throughout the race, holding his endorsement until Biden became the presumptive nominee.

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“Now Joe will be a better candidate for having run the gauntlet of primaries and caucuses alongside one of the most impressive Democratic fields ever,” Obama said. “Each of our candidates were talented and decent, with a track record of accomplishment, smart ideas and serious visions for the future. And that’s certainly true of the candidate who made it farther than any other — Bernie Sanders.”

Obama said that although he and Sanders, who served together in the Senate, “haven’t always agreed on everything,” they share a desire to make America a “fairer, more just, more equitable country.”

“Bernie’s an American original — a man who has devoted his life to giving voice to working people’s hopes, dreams, and frustrations,” he said. “He and I haven’t always agreed on everything, but we’ve always shared a conviction that we have to make America a fairer, more just, more equitable society.”

Sanders is known for his populist message that brought people from under-represented demographics, such as young people and minorities, to participate in politics. Obama said Sanders’s movement “will be critical in moving America in a direction of progress and hope.”

“We both know that nothing is more powerful than millions of voices calling for change. And the ideas he’s championed, the energy and enthusiasm he inspired, especially in young people, will be critical in moving America in a direction of progress and hope,” he said.