Clinton set to negotiate with Sanders 'when he's ready'

US Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton says she will negotiate with rival Bernie Sanders "when he’s ready to talk."

“Well, certainly, we're going to talk with him when he's ready to talk, and listen to him. And we will take into account what he is asking for,” Clinton said told NBC News on Sunday. “I think that's part of the process.”

The former US secretary of state declined to answer a question if she would be in favor of getting rid of superdelegates, as demanded by Sanders.

“I'm going to say, when it's time, I am reaching out to do my part to try to unify the party. I expect him to do the same,” she added.

“I did that when I lost a much closer race to Sen. Obama. Because I knew that whatever our differences were, just as whatever our differences are between me and Sen. Sanders, they pale in comparison to [presumptive GOP presidential nominee] Donald Trump and the Republicans. And I think most of Sen. Sanders's supporters understand that as well,” she said.

Clinton declared that she will be the nominee of the Democratic Party in the November election, but did not directly call on the Vermont senator to drop out.

“I think that Sen. Sanders has every right to finish off his campaign however he chooses,” Clinton said.

“I have far more pledged delegates. It was much closer between me and Sen. Obama. And I am going to be the nominee,” Clinton added. “And I want to spend a lot of my time, as you've seen me do, really taking on Trump. Because I find what he says, the kind of candidacy he's presenting, to pose a danger to our country.”

During an interview on ABC’s "This Week" on Sunday, Sanders said that both Clinton and Trump are “very strongly disliked” by the American people.

Sanders said one of the reasons he is staying in the race for the White House is because he does not want Americans to vote "for the lesser of two evils," in an apparent reference to Clinton.

“We need a campaign, an election, coming up which does not have two candidates who are really very, very strongly disliked. I don't want to see the American people voting for the lesser of two evils," the senator said.

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released early Sunday, a majority of Americans view both Clinton and Trump unfavorably. Fifty-eight percent of voters dislike Trump, while 54 percent have a negative opinion of Clinton, the poll found.

Forty-seven percent of voters said they would consider a third-party candidate if Clinton and Trump face off as the Democratic and Republican nominees in November, according to the survey.

Sanders, 74, has long argued that although he is losing the primary presidential race to Clinton, Democratic Party officials should consider how well he does with independents as one of the reasons he is better prepared to compete against Trump in the general election.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk