This post has been updated.
Barack Obama released a detailed letter in the aftermath of President Joe Biden dropping out of the race. It did not endorse Kamala Harris, who is taking over the top spot on the 2024 Democratic Party ticket. Most of the party is behind Harris since they have no other choice. The party is saddled with two loser candidates, though one—Harris—appears to have solved the Democrats’ fundraising problems for now. Yet, the most popular Democrat has been mum on Harris, and we know why: he also thinks she can’t beat Trump (via NY Post):
Former president Barack Obama hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris’ presidential bid because he doesn’t think she can beat Donald Trump, according to a source close to the Biden family.
Following Joe Biden’s shock resignation from the race on Sunday, and his immediate endorsement of the vice president, most of the Democratic elite have been quick to rally behind Harris — but Obama is a notable exception.
“Obama’s very upset because he knows she can’t win,” the Biden family source told The Post.
“Obama 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.”
The turning point for Biden, 81, came after his disastrous performance against Trump in a televised debate in Atlanta last month which, The Post first revealed, was part of an “elaborate set-up” to remove him from the race.
But the source doesn’t have high hopes for a TV debate between Trump and Harris. When Biden was still in the race, a second debate was scheduled for September 10.
“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 source said.
“Obama knew this was going to happen, Joe knew this was going to happen. Now she is going to have to answer real questions.”
The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on this story.
The former president was bearish on his former vice president's chances to win re-election, which has reportedly driven a wedge between the two men—Biden still resents Obama passing him over for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Clintons were reportedly supportive of Biden staying in the race before the president decided to quit on July 21, perhaps a late overture of good faith and support as a makeup for what went down eight years ago.
Obama wasn't supportive of Biden’s 2020 run and tried to talk him into dropping out behind the scenes in 2024 because he felt the president could win. We’ve come full circle because Biden, like Obama, also felt that his vice president couldn’t win, which partially explained his reluctance to drop out—a brush with COVID and maybe another more serious medical episode might have forced his hand.
It's clear that Obama, while a loyal Democrat, knows this ticket isn’t it. He may be wrong politically, but he knows how to win. He built a virtually unbeatable coalition—thank God for term limits—and he knows Biden-Harris, Harris-whoever is a losing candidacy. It wouldn’t shock me if Obama does endorse Harris in a half-assed manner, especially if things look hopeless.
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UPDATE: After this leaked, Obama is set to endorse Kamala, likely begrudgingly so:
FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA SET TO ENDORSE HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT: CNN
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) July 25, 2024
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