Washington — The leaders of the two largest democracies of the world, US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were holding a working lunch in the White House Cabinet room. But as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton closed in on the Democratic nomination over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on June 7 and congressional Republicans distanced themselves from Donald Trump’s charges that a judge overseeing a fraud investigation of Trump University is biased because of his Mexican heritage, most of the questions at the White House press briefing were about the campaign over who will succeed Obama in the Oval Office.

“Is the president ready to endorse Secretary Clinton now that she seems to have enough delegates to secure the nomination?” a reporter asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

“At this point, there is at least one superdelegate — the one who works in the Oval Office — who’s not prepared to make a public declaration about his endorsement at this point,” Earnest answered. “But stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated.”

“Does the president agree that time is ticking here, that there needs to be unity soon?” another reporter asked, noting House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi had called for Democrats to unify behind the leading candidate that morning.