Former U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement Friday morning endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee. The move ended days of speculation over whether he would support her after she was anointed by the party.
Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama said in a joint missive they believe Harris has the “vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands.”
The Obamas said they could not be “more thrilled to endorse” Harris and vowed to do “everything we can” to elect her, the BBC reports.
“We agree with President Biden,” said the couple’s statement, “choosing Kamala was one of the best decisions he’s made. She has the resume to prove it.”
They said her record as California’s attorney general, a U.S. senator and then vice-president, exemplified all she could bring to the role.
File/In this Feb. 16, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama walks with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, after arriving at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, file)
“But Kamala has more than a resume,” the statement continued. “She has the vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands.
“There is no doubt in our mind that Kamala Harris has exactly what it takes to win this election and deliver for the American people.
“At a time when the stakes have never been higher, she gives us all reason to hope.”
The statement was accompanied by a carefully orchestrated video of Harris taking a phone call from the Obamas in which they pledge their support in the wake of her coronation after President Joe Biden dropped out, as Breitbart News reported.
“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,” the former president told Harris, who is shown taking the call as she walks backstage at an event, trailed by a Secret Service agent.
“Oh my goodness,” says the vice-president in the clip. “Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me.”
ABC News notes both Obamas campaigned separately for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, including large rallies on the closing weekends before Election Day.
They delivered key speeches at the Democrats’ convention in 2020, a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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