Barack Obama has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for US president, meaning the vice-president has now won the backing of all the party’s politically active high-profile figures for her White House bid.
The former president had conspicuously withheld his endorsement in the immediate aftermath of Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the campaign, and was initially believed to favour an open nominating contest at next month’s Democratic national convention in Chicago.
But after Ms Harris earned the backing of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, a host of state governors and the most senior Democrats in Congress – as well as Mr Biden himself – Mr Obama has added his voice in what amounts to a major boost for the vice-president.
The 44th president was joined by wife Michelle, the former first lady, in a phone call with Ms Harris that was filmed and released by her campaign on Friday. In the video Ms Harris is seen listening to the Obamas on an iPhone in her right hand.
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“I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you,” Michelle Obama says. “This is going to be historic.”
Mr Obama weighs in: “We called to say Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office.”
Smiling, standing near a vehicle, Ms Harris replies: “Oh my goodness. Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me, I am looking forward to doing this with the two of you, Doug and I both. And getting out there, being on the road.”
She adds: “But most of all, I just wanna tell you that the words you have spoken and the friendship that you have given over all these years mean more than I can express. So thank you both! It means so much. And, and we’re gonna have some fun with this too, aren’t we?”
The endorsement comes as the Harris campaign, which has made a flying start, launches a “weekend of action” marking 100 days until the election with more than 170,000 volunteers and 2,300 events across battleground states.
Mr Obama was the first black US president and is endorsing a candidate who, if she wins against Donald Trump in November, will become the first woman, first black woman and first person of south Asian descent to serve as president.
A spate of opinion polls carried out since Mr Biden abandoned his presidential campaign last Sunday show Ms Harris closing the gap on Mr Trump but still narrowly trailing in a tight race.
While still often narrowly behind, the ability of Ms Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, to gain ground on her Republican opponent suggests her elevation to the top of the ticket has reset the presidential race, pollsters say, especially after weeks of plummeting Democratic poll numbers under Mr Biden.
Fresh surveys carried out in battleground states show Mr Trump ahead mostly within error margins in the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia, while one survey showed the two are tied in Wisconsin at 47 per cent apiece.
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Similarly tight margins have been reported in national polling, with Mr Trump ahead by one point among likely voters, 48 to 47, in a New York Times/Siena poll released on Thursday – a stark contrast with the six-point lead the Republican nominee held over Mr Biden in the same poll at the beginning of July.
Mr Trump is ahead by two points in a Quinnipiac University survey already begun before Mr Biden withdrew, one point in another from Marist College, and three points in a CNN/SSRS poll conducted over two days.
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Another poll from Ipsos/Reuters showed Harris with a two-point lead, 44 per cent to 42 per cent, while a You Gov/Yahoo survey had them tied at 46 per cent each.
While still trailing the trend represents momentum for Ms Harris, who has started her campaign with a rush of enthusiasm this week. – Guardian
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