Bernie Sanders Warns His Supporters Not to Sit Out This Election

For more than two minutes, Bernie Sanders stood on the DNC stage as the crowd gave him a standing ovation even before he gave the keynote address on Monday night.

He then sent a clear message: he understands people are disappointed that he's not the presumptive Democratic nominee, but his supporters need to vote for Hillary Clinton in order to stop Donald Trump.

His words came after he was booed at a DNC breakfast event this morning when he repeated his endorsement for Hillary Clinton and after protests led by Sanders supporters erupted outside the DNC arena.

"I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process," said Sanders. "I think it's fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am."

Alluding to the threat of a Trump presidency, he reiterated his support for Clinton.

"We need leadership in this country which will improve the lives of working families, the children, the elderly, the sick and the poor. We need leadership which brings our people together and makes us stronger — not leadership which insults Latinos, Muslims, women, African-Americans, and veterans — and divides us up."

"By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that — based on her ideas and her leadership — Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close."

Bernie Sanders: "Based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the U.S." https://t.co/TWifxqCIHa

— ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2016

The crowd erupted in cheers as Sanders gave other reasons for supporting Clinton, including: her desire to raise the minimum, support for the LGBTQ community, her plan to uphold a woman's right to choose, and possible Supreme Court pick.

"If you don't believe this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights, and the future of our country."

Sanders: Clinton's SCOTUS nominees to defend woman's right to choose, workers' rights, LGBT rights, minority rights. https://t.co/2ac4wyyqzL

— ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2016

It was essentially another way of saying what Sanders supporter Sarah Silverman told the crowd earlier after she was booed for endorsing Clinton: "To the Bernie or Bust people, 'You're being ridiculous.'"