Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris for president

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama applaud during the portrait unveiling ceremony for former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush portraits, May 31, 2012, at the White House in Washington.

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on the phone with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as the Obamas endorse Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate in this still image taken from a video released on July 26, 2024. Harris for President campaign/Handout via REUTERS

Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris for president

By Tyler Pager,
Toluse Olorunnipa,
and Amy B Wang
washingtonpost.com
6–7 minutes

WASHINGTON - Former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama endorsed Vice President Harris for president on Friday, becoming the final key leaders in the Democratic Party to unite behind Harris after President Biden abandoned his bid for a second term.

A video posted on social media shows the Obamas calling Harris to inform her of their endorsement.

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

Michelle Obama says: “I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.”

In a separate statement, the Obamas pledged to “do everything we can” to elect Harris and called on their legions of supporters to join the effort.

They praised Harris’s record of accomplishments, listing each of her previous roles in what could be interpreted as a rejoinder to Republicans who have labeled her a “DEI hire” — a reference to “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives often used derisively to suggest that Harris only reached the upper echelon of American politics because of her race and gender.

“But Kamala has more than a résumé. She has the vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands,” they wrote. “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.”

Their call with Harris took place on Wednesday. Barack Obama said the Democrats would be “underdogs” but pledged to work hard for her election.

“Bottom line is, we are ready to get to work,” he said during the call, according to a transcript. “We are telling everybody to kick off those bedroom slippers and get off the couch and start knocking on doors and making phone calls.”

Many Republicans seized on the fact that Obama did not mention or endorse Harris in his initial statement responding to Biden’s abrupt exit from the race Sunday.

“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” he said in that statement. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

On Thursday, Donald Trump’s campaign seized on Obama’s lack of an endorsement to make the case that Harris’s path to the nomination was not a done deal. Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said Trump would not agree to debate Harris until she was officially the Democratic nominee, suggesting without evidence that Obama and other top Democrats were considering backing a different candidate.

“There is a strong sense by many in the Democrat Party — namely Barack Hussein Obama — that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump, and they are still holding out for someone ‘better,’” Cheung said in a statement Thursday evening. “Therefore, it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds.”

Harris, however, has had a long relationship with the Obamas. In 2004, she endorsed Barack Obama when he was running for Senate in Illinois — then as an unknown political newcomer — and she was the San Francisco district attorney. Harris also was one of the earliest supporters of Obama in his 2008 presidential bid, going against the political establishment to endorse him over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.

On Friday, a Harris spokeswoman posted to social media a photo of Harris attending the Feb. 10, 2007, launch of Obama’s campaign in Springfield, Ill. In an HBO documentary about Obama’s campaign, Harris can also be seen celebrating his victory on the night of the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Harris, as California attorney general, was a speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, where she vigorously promoted Obama for a second term, touting his leadership during the Great Recession.

“When it comes to the housing crisis, the choice between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is clear,” she said then, later adding: “President Obama will fight for working families; he will fight to level the economic playing field and fight to give every American the same fair shot my family had.”

Obama also offered a personal message for Harris after her and Biden’s inauguration in 2021, noting that “obviously, there was a personal element to see my former vice president become the 46th president and to see Kamala Harris as our first woman vice president.”

Alongside former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama also offered his and Michelle’s assistance if ever needed.

“Joe, I’m proud of you, and you and Kamala need to know that you’ve got all of us here rooting for your success, keeping you in our prayers, and we will be available in any ways that we can as citizens to help you guide our country forward,” Obama said then.

The Obamas’ endorsement of Harris on Friday comes after she already secured enough pledges from delegates to become the likely nominee. Biden exited the race on Sunday and immediately endorsed Harris, who quickly coalesced much of the Democratic Party behind her bid.

Just before Biden dropped out of the race, Obama told allies that the president’s path to victory had greatly diminished and he thought the president needed to seriously consider the viability of his candidacy, according to multiple people briefed on his thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations. In those conversations, Obama emphasized he felt protective over Biden as a friend and was concerned about his legacy.