Obama refrains from endorsing Kamala Harris in his statement about Biden’s withdrawal

07/25/2024 / By Ramon Tomey

Former President Barack Obama has refrained from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in his statement regarding President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race.

The two-term former chief executive issued a lengthy statement following Biden’s July 21 decision to drop out of the presidential race and abandon plans for reelection. He praised Biden’s career and dedication, and commended him as a “patriot of the highest order.”

Obama also acknowledged the significance of his former vice president’s decision to bow out of the race, writing: “For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America.”

“I believe that Biden’s vision of a generous, prosperous and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic [National] Convention (DNC) in August. And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond.”

However, the 44th president who served from 2009 until 2017 refrained from endorsing Harris – who Biden explicitly named to replace him. Obama instead expressed confidence that the Democratic Party’s leadership would “create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges” at the DNC next month in Chicago. He also highlighted the “uncharted political waters” the party is navigating in his message.

Bill and Hillary Clinton declare support for Harris

According to YourNews, Obama’s statement followed former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly declaring their support for Harris.

“We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing for America time and time again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country,” the Clintons said in a joint statement on X. “We are honored to join the president in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”

Biden announced his decision to drop out in a June 21 post on X. He emphasized that it would be best for the Democratic Party and the country for him to “stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling [his] duties as president for the remainder of [his] term. (Related: IT’S JOE-VER! Biden DROPS OUT of presidential race, endorses VP Harris as replacement.)

The announcement followed weeks of Democratic lawmakers publicly urging him to step down. Despite these, Biden and his campaign team had insisted for weeks that he would remain in the race.

In a subsequent statement, Biden gave his endorsement to the former U.S. senator for California-turned-vice president.

“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” he said. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Harris as my vice president – and it’s been the best decision I’ve made. I want to offer my full support and endorsement for [her] to be the nominee.”

Since Biden’s announcement, endorsements for Harris have rolled in from Democratic Party bigwigs. However, some have proposed a “mini primary process” to select a nominee ahead of the DNC.

Head over to BarackObama.news for more stories about the 44th U.S. president.

Watch Bill Hemmer of Fox News tackling the question of why Barack Obama didn’t endorse Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden below.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.