1st LD: U.S. Democrat Bernie Sanders says to vote for his rival Hillary Clinton to beat Donald Trump -- TV network

U.S. Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders said Friday that he will vote for the party's presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in November, saying stopping Donald Trump from becoming president must be an overarching goal.

Asked on the MSNBC's Morning Joe program whether he would vote for Clinton in November, the Vermont Senator answered "Yes".

However, Sanders, whose campaign has successfully attracted tens of thousands of young Democrats and independent voters, indicated he would remain in the race to influence the Democratic platform at the party's national convention set in July.

"My job right now is to fight for the strongest possible platform at the Democratic convention," he said.

Arguing whether his continuing fight will deepen the party's disunity now as Clinton has secured the nomination, he said: "You talk about disunity. I talk about involving the American people in the political process." Endi