"I consider myself as someone who's on the path, and obviously I'm very far ahead in both the popular vote and the delegate count, so I think the path leads to the nomination," Clinton said on CNN's "State of the Union."

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"But, you know, I'm going to keep competing."

Clinton praised Sanders and his supporters, saying the Vermont senator has been a "passionate advocate for positions he cares deeply about.

"But there comes a time where you have to look at the reality," she continued.

"In fact, in '08 I was much closer in both popular vote and pledged delegates to Sen. Obama than is the case right now, but eventually I just decided that I had to withdraw and support Sen. Obama because the goal was to make sure we had a Democrat in the White House."

She said she's going to be "aggressive" in reaching out to Sanders's supporters.

"He's brought millions of people into the process," she said.

Clinton said she "looks forward" to working with Sanders in the lead-up to the convention, adding she was "pleased" when Sanders said he's going to work tirelessly to ensure Trump is not the nominee.

"I really welcome his ideas and his supporters, passion and commitment, because the most important thing for us is to win in November," she said.