Obama supports Kamala Harris’s candidacy for US President

On Friday morning (26), former US President Barack Obama publicly declared his support for Kamala Harris’s candidacy for the White House. The current US Vice President became the likely new name for the Democratic Party to run for president after President Joe Biden announced that he will not run for re-election.

The presidential election in the United States is scheduled for November 5. On the Republican Party side, former President Donald Trump has been chosen as the official candidate for the race.

Although Kamala Harris is the likely nominee, she is still expected to compete for the nomination with Senator Sherrod Brown. The official candidate will be decided at a Democratic Party convention, scheduled for August 19, in Chicago.

“Historic” and “fantastic” presidency

Barack Obama and Kamala Harris shared a video this morning on their profiles on the social network X (formerly Twitter). In the recording, the pre-candidate appears receiving a call from Obama and his wife, Michelle. The video is reminiscent of the strategy used by Joe Biden in 2020, when he published a video inviting Kamala to be his vice president.

In the video released Friday, former First Lady Michelle Obama refers to the potential Democratic candidate as “my girl, Kamala” and expresses her pride. “This is going to be historic,” Michelle says. Kamala Harris responds by saying that the Obamas’ support and friendship mean a lot to her.

“We called to tell you that Michelle and I could not be more proud to support you and will do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” Barack Obama said. He suggested in his X post that the conversation had taken place a few days ago and said that Kamala would make “a fantastic president of the United States.”

Black lives matter

President Joe Biden used the same strategy to publicize his invitation to Kamala Harris to be his vice president in the 2020 election. In a video posted on August 12 of that year, Biden calls Kamala and asks if she is ready to work, to which she responds: “Oh my God, I am ready.” Biden asks her to confirm whether she is really interested in the position, and Kamala responds: “The answer is absolutely yes.”

At the time of the invitation, the US was experiencing a wave of anti-racist protests and protests against police violence, led by the “Black Lives Matter” movement. The trigger was the case of George Floyd, a black former security guard who was killed during a police approach. Biden was pressured by Democrats to choose a black woman as his vice president, and Kamala’s choice was seen as a nod by the party to minorities.

Kamala’s choice was crucial to Biden’s election, as it attracted black voters, who traditionally vote for Democratic candidates. They were key votes in Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012, and in the 2016 election, when the Democratic ticket had no black candidates, Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump.

Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States on November 7, 2020, and Kamala Harris became the first woman to serve as Vice President.

Delicate announcement

This is the first time Obama has publicly endorsed Kamala. However, according to Reuters news agency, he had previously expressed his full appreciation for her in private conversations and maintained regular contact with the vice president.

Analysts believe that Obama’s delay in making a public statement is due to his strong friendship with Joe Biden, and the endorsement could shake the relationship between the two, depending on how it was done. Still, there was an expectation of support, since Kamala would already have enough delegates to be nominated as the candidate for the White House. According to a survey by the Associated Press, earlier this week, Kamala reached the mark of 2,579 delegates – 1,976 are needed for the nomination.

The delegates represent the will of the members of the Democratic Party during the primaries, the internal vote that decides who will be the official name to compete with Trump.

Chosen opponent

Donald Trump has already indirectly chosen Kamala as his official opponent, as the two have clashed several times this week. Trump has not had any significant clashes with Senator Sherrod Brown.

Tensions between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have been rising in recent days, with the two exchanging accusations as the vice president’s agenda takes on an increasingly electoral tone. Harris accused Trump of dragging the country into “a dark past,” while Trump claimed that Democrats removed Biden from the race to put in a potential “lunatic” and “lying” candidate.

In a message on social media platform X, Kamala said she was prepared to debate Trump and accused him of backing out after agreeing to a debate on September 10. Days ago, Trump said he was “absolutely willing” to debate Kamala, but he did not agree with the chosen TV network.

The exchange of accusations between the two continues, with Kamala saying that the Republicans’ program “is a plan to return the United States to a dark past.” “Trump and his extremist allies want to take our nation back to failed economic policies, to the fight against unions and to the return of tax breaks for billionaires,” said the Democratic candidate, who is expected to be officially nominated at the party’s convention in August.