Beto O’Rourke to Endorse Joe Biden for President

Former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX), whose presidential campaign ended with a whimper last fall, plans to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden’s bid for the White House, according to the New York Times.

O’Rourke is expected to make his support public at Biden’s campaign event in Dallas, Texas, on Monday evening. The Times‘ report comes after Biden received endorsements from former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) — both of whom dropped out of the Democrat presidential primary in the past 48 hours.

Biden said he signaled to Buttigieg that he would ask him to join his administration if he wins the White House. “I did speak to Pete Buttigieg a couple of days ago to encourage him to stay engaged. Because he has enormous talent, and I indicated to him that if I became the nominee, I’d come and ask him to be part of an administration,” he told Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

Earlier Monday, Biden also scored endorsements from former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Obama-era National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

“Joe Biden’s strength of character and deep experience stand in the starkest contrast to Trump’s amorality, corruption and utter incompetence,” Reid said in a statement. “Biden will be a much-needed stabilizing force following Trump’s disastrous term, offering a positive and progressive alternative to Trump’s dark vision of racism, xenophobia and policies built on cruelty and exclusion. I believe Biden is best able to defeat Donald Trump and enact the policies we all care about.”

The endorsements show the establishment wing of the Democrat Party is coalescing around Biden before Super Tuesday, where a third of the delegates are up for grabs. The former vice president hopes to regain his frontrunner status from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who had strong showings in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Biden decisively won the Palmetto State on Saturday, while Sanders came in second.

President Donald Trump said Biden’s newfound support is proof of a plan to deny Sanders the Democrat nomination.

“I think it’s rigged against Bernie, but maybe he’ll pull it through.  It was rigged against me four years ago, and I pulled it through. I think it’s rigged against Bernie.  You see what’s happening with — Klobuchar just, I heard — just — something happened there,” the president told reporters as he departed for North Carolina for a re-election rally.

“Buttigieg just went out and said something.  And probably, they’ll say, “Hey, look, if I win, I’ll put you in the administration.”  That’s called “quid pro quo,” right?  Quid pro quo.  And they probably said, “Hey, listen, if I win, I’ll give you an endorsement, but will you take me in the administration?”  Now, I’m sure, like — I’m sure nothing like that has ever happened, right?  But that’s the way it seems to go,” he added.