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Hillary says race against Bernie Sanders is 'done'

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at La Gala in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US, May 16, 2016. Photo: Reuters

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said her primary race against Bernie Sanders is effectively over.

"I will be the nominee for my party," she told CNN in an interview. "That is already done, in effect. There is no way that I won't be."

Sanders has come under pressure to bow out since Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee.

But the Vermont Senator has vowed to fight until the party convention.

Clinton holds a commanding lead in the delegate count.

Democratic leaders are concerned about party unity after a clash between officials and Sanders supporters at a party convention in Nevada over the weekend.

Sanders supporters yelled at party officials and picked up chairs. The state's party chairwoman later received death threats.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter

Hillary Clinton's insistence that the race for the Democratic nomination is effectively over is supported by delegate maths, but it will do little to quell the growing acrimony between her supporters and those of Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont senator continues to insist that he has a narrow path to the nomination and will fight for every last delegate.

Clinton has tried ignoring these claims. Now she's addressing them head-on, perhaps hoping it will allow her to shift focus onto Donald Trump. Over the coming weeks she will likely test out a variety of possible lines of attack against the Republican, including the charge that he is too risky to put in the Oval Office.

This critique echoes concerns I encountered numerous time on the campaign trail among those who supported Trump's Republican opponents. Clinton may be hoping that a campaign crafted around national security could win over independents and moderate Republicans who are uneasy with Trump's brash style and foreign policy inexperience.

It may be an effective strategy - but it's one made more difficult as long as Sanders continues to act as a thorn in Clinton's left flank.

Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid said Sanders had not done enough to rein in his supporters.

The Sanders campaign has sought to downplay the Nevada incident.

Also in the interview, Clinton said Trump, her likely general election opponent, is not qualified to be president.

Her reasons included Trump's plan to bar Muslims from travelling to the US, his call to step back from Nato and his negative comments about the UK government, which she called America's "closest ally".

Clinton called Trump "dangerous" and said he could not be trusted in sensitive national security situations like the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden.

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Hillary says race against Bernie Sanders is 'done'

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at La Gala in Bowling Green, Kentucky, US, May 16, 2016. Photo: Reuters

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said her primary race against Bernie Sanders is effectively over.

"I will be the nominee for my party," she told CNN in an interview. "That is already done, in effect. There is no way that I won't be."

Sanders has come under pressure to bow out since Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee.

But the Vermont Senator has vowed to fight until the party convention.

Clinton holds a commanding lead in the delegate count.

Democratic leaders are concerned about party unity after a clash between officials and Sanders supporters at a party convention in Nevada over the weekend.

Sanders supporters yelled at party officials and picked up chairs. The state's party chairwoman later received death threats.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter

Hillary Clinton's insistence that the race for the Democratic nomination is effectively over is supported by delegate maths, but it will do little to quell the growing acrimony between her supporters and those of Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont senator continues to insist that he has a narrow path to the nomination and will fight for every last delegate.

Clinton has tried ignoring these claims. Now she's addressing them head-on, perhaps hoping it will allow her to shift focus onto Donald Trump. Over the coming weeks she will likely test out a variety of possible lines of attack against the Republican, including the charge that he is too risky to put in the Oval Office.

This critique echoes concerns I encountered numerous time on the campaign trail among those who supported Trump's Republican opponents. Clinton may be hoping that a campaign crafted around national security could win over independents and moderate Republicans who are uneasy with Trump's brash style and foreign policy inexperience.

It may be an effective strategy - but it's one made more difficult as long as Sanders continues to act as a thorn in Clinton's left flank.

Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid said Sanders had not done enough to rein in his supporters.

The Sanders campaign has sought to downplay the Nevada incident.

Also in the interview, Clinton said Trump, her likely general election opponent, is not qualified to be president.

Her reasons included Trump's plan to bar Muslims from travelling to the US, his call to step back from Nato and his negative comments about the UK government, which she called America's "closest ally".

Clinton called Trump "dangerous" and said he could not be trusted in sensitive national security situations like the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden.

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