As of Thursday morning, July 25th, Barack Obama has not endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. In his statement on Sunday, Obama actually endorsed an open mini-primary and a brokered convention. Given that Obama’s former staffers were a big part of the maneuvers against President Biden, maneuvers which did not include the party backing Vice President Harris as the nominee, it absolutely seems that there are strong divisions between Biden World and Obama World. Not only that, Obama is still sitting back and withholding an endorsement as Democrats quickly got in lockstep behind VP Harris. Obama reportedly sees his role as “uniting the party behind the eventual nominee.” VP Harris has already united the party as the nominee. Also: don’t confuse “Obama should endorse” with “VP Harris needs the Obama endorsement.” The two things are not the same – at this point, Obama’s silence is affecting HIS support, not VP Harris’s.
This week, the Democrats and right-wing media have all noted Obama’s public silence on VP Harris. There are a lot of rumors going around in Dem circles, and of course the right-wing media is trying to turn Obama’s seeming reticence to endorse Harris into something. The NY Post’s “sources” claimed that Obama is withholding his endorsement because he doesn’t believe Harris can beat Trump. An obvious lie, but one which be thrown out there because the rest of the party has already gotten in formation. Well, Obama World has gotten their feathers ruffled by the pushback on Obama centering Obama (and not Biden and Harris) as the great party healer. Obama World wants everyone to know that Obama has been advising VP Harris and he plans to endorse soon:
Former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris have been in close touch since she announced her presidential candidacy Sunday, having multiple conversations this week as she kicks off her campaign, according to four people familiar with their discussions. Obama privately has fully supported Harris’ candidacy and plans to endorse her soon, these people said.
“He has been in regular contact with her and thinks she’s been off to a great start,” one of them said.
Obama is one of the only high-profile Democrats in the country who has yet to endorse Harris. While other party leaders have stepped forward to publicly back her, he has so far kept his support private. The people familiar with the discussions didn’t know the precise timing of his endorsement. One of them said Obama didn’t want it to overshadow President Joe Biden’s moment, particularly his Oval Office address to the nation Wednesday night.
Another person familiar with the discussions said Obama and Harris, who is seeking to maintain the momentum her campaign has enjoyed among Democrats since she entered the race, wanted his endorsement to stand as its own moment. Aides to Obama and Harris also have discussed arranging for the two of them to appear together on the campaign trail, though no date has been set, three of the people familiar with the discussions said.
Michelle Obama also supports Harris’ candidacy, two people familiar with the matter said.
During their conversations in recent days, Obama has offered Harris his counsel on setting up a campaign and on other aspects of mounting a successful bid for the White House, which he has done twice, the people familiar with their discussions said. From Obama’s perspective, Harris has taken on a lot in a very short time, and he sees himself as a resource and a sounding board for her as she navigates a high-stakes campaign with about just 100 days until Election Day, according to two of the people familiar with their discussions.
“Obama has offered Harris his counsel on setting up a campaign” – what’s funny about that is Harris is largely eschewing the Obama crew, the bros who made a name for themselves with their attachment to Obama. Several Obama bros wanted to work as senior campaign staff, but Harris has mostly inherited and hired Biden people and brought in her own people from her previous campaigns. The one Obama-era person getting cited a lot is Eric Holder, who was Obama’s long-suffering Attorney General. Harris has asked Holder to help her vet running mates. I don’t see that as “Obama helping Harris” though – Harris and Holder had an existing relationship/alliance and she trusts him. Anyway, Obama needs to endorse sooner rather than later just because his lack of endorsement is becoming a huge f–king distraction as VP Harris soars.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.