On day one of its convention in Philadelphia, Democrats tried to unite behind their presumptive nominee, with Bernie Sanders in particular having to sell Hillary Clinton to his faithful supporters. The entire day, he had mixed results. Courtney Gross filed the following report.
Working hard to get his supporters behind his former opponent, Bernie Sanders spoke out forcefully at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, repeatedly praising Hillary Clinton by name and trying to make sure that the cheering would be louder than any boos.
"By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States," Sanders said.
His pleas came on the heels of another email scandal for Democrats. Emails leaked over the weekend had suggested leaders at the Democratic National Committee favored Clinton over Sanders during the primary.
Throughout the first day of the convention, some of Sanders' supporters made their displeasure quite clear.
They first booed Sanders at a speech in the afternoon.
"We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine," Sanders said during that speech, a remark that was met with boos.
They then razzed the comedienne Sarah Silverman, a Sanders supporter, as she praised Hillary Clinton on the main stage, eventually prompting this reaction:
"To the Bernie or bust people, you are being ridiculous," Silverman said.
Sanders had urged his supporters not to boo or walk out during the night's speeches. When he took the stage, he was cheered for minutes before beginning his remarks, bringing some attendees to tears.
While he had the mic, he said the two campaigns had come together to make a progressive platform.
"To all of our supporters, here and around the country, I hope you take enormous pride in the historical accomplishments we have achieved," he said.
As Sanders was speaking, Donald Trump tweeted that is was sad to see him "abandon his revolution."