President Obama’s Message to Bernie Sanders: ‘Everybody Knows’ Delegate Math

The president pointed to Bernie Sanders' impossible delegate math.

ByABC News
May 6, 2016, 2:08 PM

— -- As Bernie Sanders pledges to take his presidential campaign all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this July, President Obama appeared to imply that Sanders' efforts are all but over – even if he won’t explicitly call on Sanders to drop out.

Asked whether he believes the Vermont senator should end his campaign given the current delegate count, he replied, “I think on the Democratic side, just let the process play itself out. You mentioned the delegate math. I think everybody knows what that math is.”

According to ABC News’ estimates, Hillary Clinton has 2,205 delegates compared to Sanders' 1,401 delegates.

Nevertheless, Obama commended Sanders for “an extraordinary job raising a whole range of issues” that are important to Democratic voters.

“I know that at some point there is going to be a conversation between Secretary Clinton and Bernie Sanders about how we move towards the convention,” Obama predicted.

Obama acknowledged that while “everybody starts getting a little chippy” in the course of primaries, “the good news is that there is a pretty strong consensus within the Democratic Party on the vast majority of issues.”

“You know, I've been through this. It's natural,” he continued. “Sometimes, even more with the staffs and supporters than with the candidates themselves.”