Former President Barack Obama is reportedly withholding his endorsement from Vice President Kamala Harris because he is not convinced she can beat former President Donald Trump in the November election, an unnamed source close to the Biden administration has told the New York Post. However, even though Obama has not joined the growing list of high-profile Democrats endorsing Harris’ candidacy, other sources within the former president’s orbit insist that he is squarely behind her campaign and plans to endorse her publicly sometime this week.
According to the Post’s source, “Obama’s very upset because he knows [Harris] can’t win.” Instead, the former president was allegedly hoping for an open Democratic convention next month after his one-time running mate ended his reelection bid. To that end, Obama consulted with actor George Clooney on a New York Times op-ed encouraging Biden to drop out, hoping that the actor’s argument would persuade Biden to step aside.
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However, while Biden ultimately gave up hopes of securing a second term, Democratic leaders did not expect him to endorse Harris so quickly.
“Obama was shocked,” the source said. “[He] knows she’s just incompetent — the border czar who never visited the border, saying that all migrants should have health insurance. She cannot navigate the landmines that are ahead of her. When you are running for president, there are things you can and can’t say.”
“Wait until the debate … She can’t debate. She’s going to put her foot in her mouth about Israel, Palestine, Ukraine. She’s going to say something really stupid,” the unidentified person continued. “Obama knew this was going to happen, Joe knew this was going to happen. Now she is going to have to answer real questions.”
However, this assessment is contradicted by others close to Obama himself, with four sources telling NBC News that the former president may throw his support behind Harris as soon as Thursday.
“He believed it was important for the party to have a legitimate process where delegates select our new nominee, and he thinks VP Harris has been off to an impressive start,” said one source. Additional sources indicate that former First Lady Michelle Obama also supports Harris and will likely endorse her alongside her husband.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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