In bid for unity, ex-rival Sanders backs Biden to challenge Trump

FILE PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden bends back to avoid the hand of Senator Bernie Sanders as Sanders points past Biden during the U.S. Democratic presidential candidates debate at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday endorsed his longtime rival former Vice President Joe Biden, a move aimed at unifying a Democratic Party long fractured along moderate and liberal lines ahead of the election match-up against President Donald Trump.

Sanders cited the novel coronavirus outbreak as a reason for the party to come together behind Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee after the progressive firebrand Sanders suspended his White House campaign.