Obama endorses Kamala Harris after initial hesitation: 'A critical moment for our country'
Former President Barack Obama has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president of the United States after hesitating to publicly back the likely Democratic Party nominee.
In a post to his official X account on early Friday morning, Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, had a phone call with Harris earlier this week in which they voiced their support.
"We told her we think she'll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support," he tweeted. "At this critical moment for our country, we're going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in November. We hope you'll join us."
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Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend @KamalaHarris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support. At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in… pic.twitter.com/0UIS0doIbA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 26, 2024
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he was ending his run for reelection, instead imploring the Democratic Party to make Harris, a former U.S. senator and attorney general of California, its new presidential nominee.
Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president from 2009 to 2017, released a statement Sunday evening in which he commended the 81-year-old for his service but stopped shy of endorsing Harris.
"We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges," stated Obama.
"I believe that Joe Biden's vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August."
Some questioned if Obama's omission of Harris in the statement meant he didn't support her presidential bid. But sources close to the former president told The New York Times that it was more about being "an impartial elder statesman above intraparty machinations" and that people should not "read too much into it."
The Obama endorsement is expected to help Harris officially secure the nomination next month at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, as she has the backing of the last two Democratic presidents. Most Democratic Party delegates from across the nation have pledged to support Harris.
While Obama and other party leaders have conveyed their support for Harris getting the presidential nomination, some progressive groups and others have expressed their dismay at the move.
The Black Lives Matter organization released a statement denouncing the apparent fast-tracking of Harris to the nomination, arguing that "a 24-hour process of talking to party bosses is not democratic, nor is it a process Democrats should be proud of."
"We do not live in a dictatorship," BLM added. "Installing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee and an unknown vice president without any public voting process would make the modern Democratic Party a party of hypocrites."
