Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign, offering the vice president the much-anticipated yet crucial backing from the country’s top Democratic figures.
The endorsement was announced Friday morning through a video in which Harris received a joint phone call from the Obamas. This support comes as Harris gains momentum as the party's likely nominee following President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his vice president against Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump.
This endorsement highlights the significant and historic connection 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—now aiming to break those same barriers at the highest office.
“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.
Said 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,” 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 “getting there, being on the road” with them in the three-month blitz before Election Day on Nov. 5.
“We’re gonna have some fun with this too, aren’t we?” Harris said.
The Obamas are among the last major party figures to formally endorse Harris—a reflection of the former president’s desire to remain, at least publicly, a party elder operating above the fray. The Obamas continue to be major fundraising draws and popular surrogates at large campaign events for Democratic candidates.
According to an Associated Press survey, Harris has already secured the public support of a majority of delegates to the Democratic National Convention, 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’s 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, tread carefully as Harris secured delegate commitments, made the rounds among core Democratic constituencies, and raised more than $120 million. The public caution mirrors how the former president handled the weeks between Biden’s debate debacle against Trump and the president’s eventual decision to end his campaign: Obama was a prominent presence in the party’s maneuvers but operated quietly.
Barack Obama’s initial statement after Biden’s announcement did not mention Harris. Instead, he spoke generically about selecting a nominee to succeed Biden: “I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” 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’ 2020 convention, a virtual event due to the coronavirus pandemic. The former president’s speech was particularly notable for its full-throated attack on Trump as a threat to democracy, an argument that continues to resonate in Harris’ campaign.
