“I know that was, that was a special and important message for all of us to hear and I'd like everyone here to join me thanking Lincoln Chafee for his remarkable public service.

“As I was standing backstage thinking about what words come to mind when I think about Lincoln Chafee, ‘class act’ was the first one that jumped to my mind.

“I want to just briefly share with you, in a trip down memory lane, what it was like when I heard that Lincoln Chafee decided to become a Democrat. Let's remember that that was a big deal. Because, when he joined our party, he made it clear that his former party had left him. And that they had gotten too extreme for him to be comfortable remaining as a Republican. Lincoln Chafee has been a public servant of conscience. He has stood strong and used his voice and made sure that the people of his state, the great state of Rhode Island when he was governor, had a governor who knew it was important to invest in education, to stand up and make sure that people who had no voice, had his, and to make sure that he sounded a clarion call for peace, as he did here with us this morning.

“I thank Lincoln Chafee for his service, for his commitment to electing a Democrat to the White House in 2016 and we look forward to seeing him campaign with us all across the country during the 2016 campaign for president.

“Thank you so much, and thank you to Lincoln Chafee.”