Clintons Endorse Harris as Obama Focuses on Biden

All praise president's decision to withdraw
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 21, 2024 3:53 PM CDT
Clintons Endorse Harris as Obama Focuses on Biden
Bill Clinton hugs Vice President Kamala Harris after an event with President Biden in the East Room of the White House in February 2023.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Bill and Hillary Clinton, who have three Democratic presidential nominations between them, endorsed Kamala Harris for president on Sunday after President Biden halted his candidacy. "We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her," the Clintons said in a post on X, per Axios. They said they've never been more worried about the nation than they are by the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the presidency. "Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we've got to elect her," they wrote. "America's future depends on it."

Barack Obama issued a statement praising his former vice president but not making an endorsement for the next nominee. "Joe Biden has been one of America's most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me," said Obama, per the Wall Street Journal. "Today, we've also been reminded—again—that he's a patriot of the highest order." The Journal reports that Obama considers himself best positioned to help the nominee win the election once that person is chosen, as he did in 2020.

"I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges," Obama wrote, per the New York Times. The Clintons also praised the departing president. "We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and again, with his North Star always being what's best for the country," they said. (More Kamala Harris 2024 stories.)

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