First lady urges Democrats to back Hillary Clinton

America’s first lady has joined Bernie Sanders to make an impassioned plea for Democrats to get behind Hillary Clinton’s bid to be the nation’s next president.

Seeking to bridge deep Democratic divides, Sanders endorsed former rival Clinton as a champion for the same economic causes that enlivened his supporters, signalling it was time for them too, to support her in the campaign against Republican White House candidate Donald Trump.

“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 declared in a headlining address on the opening night of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.