Barack Obama is on the verge of publicly endorsing Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, after the pair spoke several times on the phone in recent days, according to NBC News.
The former president has privately expressed his support for Harris’s candidacy and plans to endorse her soon, with talks underway about the pair appearing together on the campaign trail, the TV network reported, citing several unnamed people familiar with the discussions.
“He has been in regular contact with her and thinks she’s been off to a great start,” one of the sources told NBC.
Obama’s support – and star quality – would further boost the Harris campaign, as the vice-president heads to Houston on Thursday to give the keynote speech at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) national convention.
Delegates for the AFT, the second largest teachers union with 1.7 million members, voted Monday to endorse Harris’s bid to become the first woman and second African American to serve as president of the United States. Harris has received a flurry of endorsements from many of the country’s largest labor unions since she announced her candidacy for president.
With less than 100 days to the presidential election, high-profile endorsements could prove pivotal in helping maintain the momentum that Harris campaign has enjoyed among Democrats since she entered the race less than a week ago.
On Thursday, the Harris team launched its first campaign video, which touches on gun violence, health care and abortion and is soundtracked by Beyoncé’s song Freedom. Celebrity endorsements from George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee, Robert De Niro and Melinda French Gates among others have helped the Harris campaign raise record levels of funding within its first week.
Obama is the one of a handful of high-profile Democrats yet to publicly endorse Harris, who became the party’s presumptive nominee after Joe Biden stepped down on Saturday amid mounting questions about his health and flailing popularity. Bill Clinton, the former president, and his wife, 2016 defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, were among the first influential Democrats to back Harris, urging voters to rally around her candidacy to defeat Donald Trump.
Obama’s support – and advice on how to win the White House – could be crucial for Harris. Michelle Obama, the former first lady, also supports Harris’s candidacy, two people familiar with the matter told NBC.
Meanwhile on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump used his first campaign rally since Biden dropped out of the race to attack Harris, labeling her “the most incompetent and far-left vice-president in American history”. He repeatedly mispronounced her first name, and described her progressive views on abortion access and immigration as “crazy”.
