Obamas endorse Harris’ presidential bid

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama threw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House on Friday.

The Harris campaign announced the endorsement with a video showing the vice president on a phone call with the Obamas. In the video, Michelle Obama said she is proud of Harris and that this election will be “historic,” before the former president shared they were endorsing her.

“We called to say, Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” he said.

The Obamas, two of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, were the most prominent holdouts as the rest of the party quickly coalesced around Harris this week. And Barack Obama, who is a draw for events, will likely show up on the campaign trail for Harris in the run-up to November.

Harris and Barack Obama have been in contact over the years, with the former president often serving as a sounding board dating back to her days as California state attorney general. They have talked multiple times in recent days as Harris sought to rally support for her nomination after President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed her.

On the call, Obama said Democrats are “going to be underdogs” and that as Harris herself has said, she will have to earn the trust of voters across the country.

“We’re absolutely confident that you’re gonna be able to make it happen. And I wanna make sure that, you know, we’re sending a message out to not just Democrats but every American — Democrat, Republican, Independent and especially young people — that the stakes are high. And your vision for a generous, inclusive, positive, community- minded, responsible, lawful America — that’s exactly what we need. So, I know, I know you’re gonna be working hard, but you’re gonna have a whole bunch of folks working alongside you,” Obama said, according to excerpts of the phone call.

Barack Obama was reportedly among the top Democratic officials privately urging Biden to examine his candidacy in the weeks after the disastrous debate performance. But the former president held off on endorsing Harris in recent days, a move that infuriated some Democrats.

But Obama’s delay was intentional, a person familiar with his thinking said, noting that the former president didn’t want to interject with an endorsement while the party decided its process for determining its nominee.