Sanders Visits Obama At White House, Says President Isn’t Trying To Tip The Scales In Either Direction

President Obama appeared to give his tacit endorsement to Hillary Clinton in a Politico interview published on Monday. Perhaps to tamp down that impression, the president today met privately with Bernie Sanders at the White House, after which Sanders said he’s confident that Obama is remaining impartial during the primary season. The Hill reports:

“There was some discussion the other day about a Politico interview where he was tipping the scales towards Secretary Clinton. I don’t believe that at all,” the Vermont senator told reporters after a 45-minute Oval Office meeting.

The senator noted that Obama campaigned for him during his race for Senate in 2008. “In 2008 I did my best to see that he would be elected president, and I campaigned hard for him as I did in 2012,” he said.

Clinton and Sanders have both been praising Obama on the campaign trail as they hope to attract his supporters — particularly ahead of the Feb. 27 South Carolina primary, where African-Americans will be an important voting bloc.

That Politico interview sure felt like an endorsement to me.