'Proud of You': Barack, Michelle Obama Endorse Kamala Harris For President | VIDEO

New Delhi: Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama put an end to any lingering doubts on Friday by endorsing Kamala Harris in her campaign for the White House. The endorsement, delivered through a video where Harris is seen accepting a joint phone call from the Obamas, provides a big boost for the vice president. It comes at a crucial time as Harris gains momentum as the expected Democratic nominee following President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and support Harris in her bid against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.  

“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 int o 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.

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

How Did Kamala Harris React?

Kamala 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.

It also highlights the friendship and potentially historic link 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, who is now vying to break those same barriers at the presidential rank.

The Obamas are perhaps the last major party figures to endorse Harris formally — a reflection of the former president's desire to remain, at least publicly, a party elder operating above the fray. The Obamas remain prodigious fundraising draws and popular surrogates at large campaign events for Democratic candidates.  

Barack Obama's initial statement after Biden's announcement did not mention Harris. Instead, he spoke generically about coming up with 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' convention in 2020, a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic. The former president's speech was especially notable because he unveiled a full-throated attack on Trump as a threat to democracy, an argument that endures as part of Harris' campaign.

Harris backed by enough delegates to become the Democratic nominee

According to an Associated Press survey, Harris already has 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, trod carefully as Harris secured the delegate commitments, made the rounds among core Democratic constituencies and raised more than $120 million. The public caution tracks 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 certain presence in the party's maneuvers but he operated quietly.