If you heard a loud noise Tuesday night it was probably the spontaneous combustion of all Bernie supporters as he announced his endorsement of Hillary Clinton. 

Or as his supporters would put it: going over to the dark side.

Many of his supporters had strong things to say about the endorsement, ranging from “he broke my heart” to “guess I’m voting Trump,” while some just walked out on him proving that there is no politics without drama.

It comes as no surprise, though, that Senator Sanders would receive this reaction as he has spent the past 15 months campaigning against Hillary Clinton and starting a Bernie revolution with young voters who turned out more anti-Hillary than Trump is.

Senator Sanders made it very clear in his speech that, though him and Hillary Clinton still didn’t agree on everything, they had worked hard to come to a middle ground where they could fight for Democratic ideals and beat Donald Trump.

Ultimately the endorsement comes as a joint effort for the Democratic party to beat out the Republicans in November and, inherently, Trump. 

Which is why if Bernie supporters are being honest with themselves, it should not have come as that big of a surprise once Hillary Clinton won the nomination.

In a quick history of politics, this has always been the case. Take a look at the Republicans from this election: Chris Christie and Ben Carson spent they early parts of the election saying everything negative in the books about Trump and now that he’s the nominee Christie follows Trump around like a lost puppy.

Some would say that’s just the Republicans and Democrats are different and stick to their values. But let’s take a quick field trip to  the 2008 election when both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were campaigning against one another for the nomination much like Hillary and Bernie were. 

Political tradition persists, and those who lose out to the nomination normally come to endorse the winner in exchange for a place in the president’s cabinet. In that case it was the position of Vice President in exchange for Senator Biden’s votes.

In the end that’s what it comes down to: an exchange of votes. Hillary Clinton needs Senator Sanders’ voters and he knows that.

Senator Sanders has put a fire under the youth and though he may not have won the nomination, he did have a huge part in this election in the form of getting young people involved in politics.

 Now that he did not get the nomination, he understands that his supporters have to come together with Clinton’s supporters in order to beat Donald Trump.

Right now Bernie supporters are an angry mob, feeling hurt and betrayed. It’s understandable, but at the end of the day both Senator Sanders and Hillary Clinton’s main goal is to not let a Republican win in November.

So it’s time for the Bernie supporters to put down the pitchforks, because Democrats need their votes to be unified against Trump, and that’s what this endorsement on Tuesday was inherently all about.