ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation鈥檚 two most popular Democrats.
The endorsement, announced Friday morning showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris continues to build momentum as the party鈥檚 likely nominee after President Joe Biden鈥檚 decision to against Republican nominee and former President .
It also highlights the friendship and potentially historic link between the nation's first Black president and the first woman, first Black woman and first person of Asian descent to serve as vice president, who is now vying to break those same barriers at the presidential rank.
鈥淲e called to say Michelle and I couldn鈥檛 be prouder to endorse you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,鈥� the former president told Harris, who is shown taking the call as she walks backstage at an event, trailed by a Secret Service agent.
Said Michelle Obama, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 have this phone call without saying to my girl, Kamala, I am proud of you.
鈥淭his is going to be historic,鈥� she added.
Harris, who has known the Obamas since before his election in 2008, thanked them for their friendship and said she looks forward to 鈥済etting there, being on the road鈥� with them in the three-month blitz before Election Day on Nov. 5.
鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna have some fun with this too, aren鈥檛 we?鈥� Harris said.
The Obamas are perhaps the last formally 鈥� a reflection of the former president鈥檚 desire to remain, at least publicly, a party elder operating above the fray. The Obamas remain and popular surrogates at large campaign events for Democratic candidates.
According to an Associated Press survey, Harris already has of a majority of delegates to the , which begins Aug. 19 in Chicago. The Democratic National Committee expects to hold a virtual nominating vote that would, by Aug. 7, make Harris and a yet-to-be-named running mate the official Democratic ticket.
Biden endorsed Harris within an hour of announcing his decision last Sunday to end his campaign amid widespread concern about the 81-year-old president鈥檚 ability to defeat Trump. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton followed in the days after.
The Obamas, however, trod carefully as Harris secured the delegate commitments, made the rounds among core Democratic constituencies and raised more than $120 million. The public caution tracks how the former president handled the weeks between Biden鈥檚 debate debacle against Trump and the president鈥檚 eventual decision to end his campaign: Obama was a in the party鈥檚 maneuvers but he operated quietly.
Barack Obama鈥檚 initial statement after Biden鈥檚 announcement did not mention Harris. Instead, he spoke generically about coming up with a nominee to succeed Biden: 鈥淚 have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,鈥� the former president wrote.
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鈥� convention in 2020, a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic. The former president鈥檚 speech was especially notable because he unveiled a full-throated attack on Trump as a threat to democracy, an argument that endures as part of Harris鈥� campaign.
Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
