Obamas finally endorse ‘my girl’ Kamala Harris

Barack and Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris’s “historic” presidential bid in a video capturing a gushing private phone call.

The former US president and his wife on Friday became the latest Democrat heavyweights to support the vice-president’s campaign after previously holding off from formally endorsing her.

In the one-minute video released on social media, the Obamas are heard speaking to Ms Harris on loudspeaker as she walks backstage at a campaign event.

“We called to say Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” Mr Obama can be heard telling a smiling Ms Harris in the clip.

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

The vice-president, who has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to lock in the nomination, responded: “This means so much to me. I’m looking forward to doing this with the two of you, Doug [her husband] and I both. And getting out there, being on the road.”

Ms Harris then thanked them for “the friendship you have given over all these years”.

She added: “We’re gonna have some fun with this too, aren’t we?”

Her campaign said the video showed the actual call between the trio and was not a re-enactment.

In an email sent out by the Harris campaign on Friday, Mr and Mrs Obama said they “couldn’t be more excited ... or thrilled to endorse” her.

“There is no doubt in our mind that Kamala Harris has exactly what it takes to win this election and deliver for the American people. At a time when the stakes have never been higher, she gives us all reason to hope,” they added.

Ms Harris’s run against Donald Trump, her Republican rival, has continued to gain momentum from supporters, donors and politicians less than a week after Joe Biden bowed out of the race amid slumping poll numbers.

‘Marxist fraud’

The endorsement from Mr Obama, who remains one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, will help bolster Ms Harris’s campaign.

He is expected to attend fundraisers and act as a surrogate for Ms Harris after she is officially crowned the Democratic nominee and as her campaign heats up closer to the election.

While other key Democrats such as Bill and Hillary Clinton were quick to rally around Ms Harris’s bid, the Obamas notably held back their support in the days after Mr Biden stepped down.

After Mr Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Ms Harris, Mr Obama put out a statement in which he said he had “extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges”.

Such a move irritated some Democrats, as Mr Obama is understood to have been one of the key Democrats who had urged Mr Biden to rethink his campaign in light of his disastrous debate performance in June.

The former president reportedly did not want to become involved while his party worked through the process of determining its nominee.

Mr Obama’s silence was also seized upon by the Trump campaign.

“There is a strong sense by many in the Democrat Party - namely Barack Hussein Obama - that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump, and they are still holding out for someone ‘better’,” Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said on Thursday.

According to a longer transcript of their phone call released by the Democrats, Mr Obama told Ms Harris that the Democrats were “going to be underdogs” but that he and Mrs Obama were “absolutely confident that you’re gonna be able to make it happen”.

Senior Democrats are hoping to officially lock in Ms Harris as the party’s candidate ahead of its convention in mid-August, with delegates expected to begin voting next week, according to The New York Times.