Barack Obama has officially endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for US president, ensuring she now has the backing of all the party’s high-profile figures for her White House bid.
The former president had initially withheld his endorsement following Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the campaign, favoring an open nominating contest at next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.However, after Harris secured endorsements from Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, various state governors, senior Democrats in Congress, and Biden himself, Obama added his voice in a significant boost for the vice-president.
The endorsement was revealed in a video released by Harris’s campaign on Friday, showing a phone call between Harris and the Obamas.
Read the full text below:
Barack Obama: Kamala.
Kamala Harris: Hi
Michelle Obama: Hey there.
Kamala Harris: Oh, you are both together. It’s good to hear you both.
Michelle Obama: I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.
Barack Obama: 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.
Kamala Harris: Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me. I am looking forward to doing this with the two of you, Doug and I both. Getting out there, being on the road. But most of all, I just want to tell you that the words you have spoken and the friendship you have given all these years mean more than I can express. So, thank you both, it means so much. And we are going to have some fun with this, aren’t we?
The endorsement comes as the Harris campaign, which has made a strong start, launches a “weekend of action” marking 100 days until the election with over 170,000 volunteers and 2,300 events across battleground states.
Obama, the first Black US president, is endorsing Harris, who, if she wins against Donald Trump in November, will become the first woman, first Black woman, and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president.
Harris has narrowed the gap with Trump in opinion polls, trailing him 48% to 47% among likely voters in a New York Times/Siena College survey. Trump had been leading Biden by six percentage points in this poll after their debate.
With inputs from agencies
The former president had initially withheld his endorsement following Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the campaign, favoring an open nominating contest at next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.However, after Harris secured endorsements from Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, various state governors, senior Democrats in Congress, and Biden himself, Obama added his voice in a significant boost for the vice-president.
The endorsement was revealed in a video released by Harris’s campaign on Friday, showing a phone call between Harris and the Obamas.
Read the full text below:
Barack Obama: Kamala.
Kamala Harris: Hi
Michelle Obama: Hey there.
Kamala Harris: Oh, you are both together. It’s good to hear you both.
Michelle Obama: I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.
Barack Obama: 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.
Kamala Harris: Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me. I am looking forward to doing this with the two of you, Doug and I both. Getting out there, being on the road. But most of all, I just want to tell you that the words you have spoken and the friendship you have given all these years mean more than I can express. So, thank you both, it means so much. And we are going to have some fun with this, aren’t we?
The endorsement comes as the Harris campaign, which has made a strong start, launches a “weekend of action” marking 100 days until the election with over 170,000 volunteers and 2,300 events across battleground states.
Obama, the first Black US president, is endorsing Harris, who, if she wins against Donald Trump in November, will become the first woman, first Black woman, and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president.
Harris has narrowed the gap with Trump in opinion polls, trailing him 48% to 47% among likely voters in a New York Times/Siena College survey. Trump had been leading Biden by six percentage points in this poll after their debate.
With inputs from agencies