Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris‘s campaign early Friday morning, becoming two of the most high-profile Democrats to support her bid after President Joe Biden suspended his campaign on Sunday.

Barack Obama and the Harris campaign had previously been in regular talks about the endorsement after Harris had received pledged support from more than the 1,976 delegates needed to become the Democratic nominee, a source familiar told the Washington Examiner.

“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,” Barack Obama says in his video endorsement of Harris.

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

“Oh my goodness. Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me,” Harris responds to the Obamas during the taped phone call. “I am looking forward to doing this with the two of you — Doug and I both, and getting out there, being on the road. But most of all, I just want to tell you the words you have spoken and the friendship that you have given over all these years mean more than I can express. So thank you both.”

This strength of support comes ahead of Harris’s campaign launching a Weekend of Action featuring 170,000 volunteers and 2,300 events across the battleground states. “

The former president endorsed Harris after top influential Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), threw their support behind the vice president. Other advocacy groups, including the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC, and the Young Democrats of America, along with labor unions such as the AFL-CIO and the United Farm Workers, also moved swiftly to endorse Harris.

As the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama’s endorsement of Harris, in her quest to become the nation’s first black woman president, will likely bolster her among the Democratic base. Barack Obama remains one of the top leaders in the party, and his influence will add another jolt of excitement to Harris’s campaign. He has known Harris for more than 20 years and sees himself serving as a sounding board for Harris’s campaign, according to the source.

In one of the most infamous moments between the two Democrats, Barack Obama was forced to apologize to Harris in 2013 after he called her the “best-looking attorney general in the country” during a San Francisco fundraiser with the Democratic National Committee. Some social media users took issue with the compliment, calling it sexist and demeaning, while others said the comments weren’t meant as an insult. “They are old friends and good friends and he did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general’s professional accomplishments and her capabilities,” then-White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

In the days since Biden’s surprise announcement ending his campaign, Harris has broken fundraising records. Her campaign raised $81 million in 24 hours after Biden dropped out and $126 million by Tuesday, staggering sums that speak to Democratic excitement that Biden, at 81, is no longer the presidential nominee. With Barack Obama’s endorsement, it is likely that Harris will see another increase in fundraising in the coming days.

The public had long soured on a presidential race featuring two of the oldest candidates running for the White House. But Harris, at 59, has energized the Democratic base given her youth relative to the 78-year-old former President Donald Trump.

Before the endorsement of Harris, Barack Obama praised Biden over his decision to step down from the ticket. “Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me,” Biden’s former boss said in a statement Sunday that notably did not mention Harris.

If no other Democrat challenges Harris for the presidential nomination, delegates are expected to begin voting on the nominee on Aug. 1, according to a new framework approved by the Democratic National Convention’s rules committee on Wednesday. If Harris does face a challenger, voting will be delayed by at least two days.