Barack Obama is planning to endorse Kamala Harris’ presidential bid despite initially refraining from doing so, according to a report.
The former president is set to make the endorsement “soon” and has been in close contact with Harris since she launched her White House bid Sunday, sources told NBC News. One source told the network Obama didn’t want his endorsement to “overshadow” President Joe Biden’s moment and his televised Oval Office speech Wednesday night in particular.
After Biden dropped out of the race Sunday and endorsed Harris to become his party’s nominee, Democrats across the U.S. quickly fell in line behind the vice president. But several notable key Democratic figures—including Obama—didn’t immediately declare their support.
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Several other heavyweights among the initial holdouts, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have all since endorsed Harris. Obama remains one of the last high-profile Dems yet to publicly declare his support for her candidacy.
Behind the scenes, Obama has already spoken with Harris several times this week, according to NBC News, with one source saying: “He has been in regular contact with her and thinks she’s been off to a great start.”
Others said the former president has offered his advice on setting up a campaign and views himself as a sounding board as Harris mounts her bid for the White House with around only 100 days until the election.
Another person familiar with the matter told the network that Obama wanted his endorsement to be its own moment, while several sources said aides to both Obama and Harris have discussed the pair appearing together at some point on the campaign trail.
Two sources claimed former first lady Michelle Obama also supports Harris, according to the report.
Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to Obama, told NBC News: “President Obama looks forward to helping Democrats up and down the ballot make the case to voters this fall.” Schultz said the strategy will “be based on driving impact, especially where and when his voice can move the needle.”
In his address to the nation from the White House Wednesday night, Biden explained he’d dropped out of the race because the importance of any “personal ambition” is eclipsed by the national interest. “The sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us,” he said.
Obama, quoting the line, wrote in a post on X: “Joe Biden has stayed true to these words again and again over a lifetime of service to the American people. Thank you, @POTUS.”
