WASHINGTON – Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in a brief video released Friday by the Harris campaign.
The 55-second clip shows the vice chairman walking backstage at an event, approaching her motorcade and taking a call over the loudspeaker.
“Oh, hello, you two are together! Oh, it's nice to hear you both,” Harris says warmly.
““I can't make this call without saying to my friend Kamala: I'm pleased with you,” says Michelle Obama. “This goes to be historic.”
The former president then said, “We called to say: Michelle and I couldn't be prouder to support you and do the whole lot we are able to to get you thru this election and into the Oval Office.”
Harris thanks them for their friendship and adds: “We are going to have fun with it.”
The highly anticipated expressions of support put an end to any speculation that Harris, the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, may not enjoy the full support of the most popular couple in Democratic politics.
The questions arise from the fact that the Obamas' endorsement came just days after the rest of the party's leaders publicly threw their support behind Harris, shortly after President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was ending his re-election campaign.
But NBC News reported this week that Barack Obama was in regular contact with Harris throughout the week by phone and offered advice on how to build her own campaign organization virtually overnight, leveraging the staff, money and logistics of the former Biden campaign.
Later this summer and fall, both Obamas are also expected to hit the campaign trail to wow Democratic voters, many of whom are already excited about Harris.
And both Barack and Michelle Obama can be virtually certain that they will snag a coveted speaking slot at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, the first in-person convention since 2016.
The pace at which Harris' campaign has gained momentum in the first five days is virtually unprecedented in modern politics.
In the first 24 hours after Biden's exit, her campaign and the Democratic Party raised $81 million. A potentially more telling detail is that 500,000 of those donors gave to Harris' presidential campaign for the first time.
Harris also appears to have closed Biden's lead over former President Donald Trump in the polls, as she is only one percentage point behind the Republican candidate in the US. New York Times poll average late Thursday.
Obama's endorsement was also notable for the way in which the Harris team packaged it. A semi-casual video of a personal phone call between old friends bears little resemblance to the normal format of a presidential endorsement campaign.
Usually they’re released as one-page statements on letterhead or via Twitter that sing the candidate's praises. But that was not the case here.
While the video of the decision was not traditional, it was consistent with the emerging political nature of Harris' campaign, which prioritizes personal relationships, eschews pomp and welcomes discomfort.
The understated packaging of such useful support also suggests that the Obamas, each impressive speakers, could also be waiting for the fitting moment to make use of their oratorical skills for max impact.
Harris just isn’t making any public appearances on Friday. She is predicted to campaign in Georgia early next week, a state where her candidacy could revive the Democrats' electoral probabilities.
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