Former President Barack Obama will endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president “soon,” four people familiar with discussions of the matter told NBC News.
The sources contradict a Wednesday report that Obama does not believe Harris can beat former President Donald Trump in the general election and has not endorsed her for that reason.
Obama, however, “fully” supports Harris, will endorse her soon after being “in close touch since she announced her presidential candidacy Sunday,” and offered to counsel Harris on setting up a campaign. “‘He has been in regular contact with her and thinks she’s been off to a great start,’” one of them said,” according to NBC News.
Sources told the outlet:
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.
The NBC News report comes hours after the New York Post reported that Obama felt “shocked” and “furious” by President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Harris, a Biden family source claimed.
The Post reported:
According to the source, Obama’s hope was to get Biden out of the way, and an op-ed written by George Clooney in the New York Times asking him to step aside was a part of that plan.
However, the higher-ups in the Democratic Party didn’t count on Biden endorsing Harris right away and “Obama was shocked” when the president endorsed her, according to the insider.
After Biden’s ouster, Obama — who did not return a request for comment Wednesday — wanted Arizona Sen. and former astronaut Mark Kelly “at the top of the ticket” when the Democratic National Convention is held next month, the source said.
“Joe Biden’s endorsement of Kamala is his f*ck you to all who pushed him out,” Biden campaign megadonor John Morgan posted Sunday. “Be careful what you wish for.”
It appears Obama played a significant role behind the scenes in Biden’s decision to step aside. Obama did not question the viability of Biden’s candidacy until July 17 in a Washington Post leak. The leak immediately followed reports that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had urged the president to step aside.
The timing of the leak to the Post suggests an organized effort by the Democrat leaders to convince Biden to drop out after weeks of chaos within the party amid continued media scrutiny of Biden’s political viability.
Top Democrats threatened Biden with the 25th Amendment to force him out of office if he did not voluntarily step aside, sources told the Post on Monday. Democrats allegedly placed the “well-orchestrated” coup in motion weeks ago, which entailed allowing Biden to debate Trump.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
