WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama has been in regular touch with Vice President Kamala Harris since she emerged as the likely Democratic nominee to share his experiences — and is expected to endorse her soon, according to people familiar with the situation.
Obama’s name had been notably absent from the succession of top Democrats lining up to support Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race Sunday. But Obama has been active behind the scenes, serving as a sounding board to Harris and checking in with former aides who he thinks can help her cause, they said.
The former president had been reluctant to endorse Harris too quickly to avoid the perception that he was overseeing her coronation, but also to give his friend and former running mate Biden time to process his wrenching decision to step aside.
Obama has told people close to him that he has been impressed with the start of Harris’ campaign and amused by a spate of stories claiming that he was holding out because he had doubts about Harris, whom he has known for two decades.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss their private conversations.
It is not clear if Obama has spoken to Biden since Sunday, but the two men had been communicating regularly in the weeks leading up to Biden’s decision, which he made after veteran Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pressured him to quit after a catastrophic debate performance last month.
Obama’s endorsement delay came as no surprise to people close to him. He adopted an identical stance before the 2020 election, when Biden’s aides pressured him to endorse early in the Democratic primaries before Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out. (Obama’s favored phrase back then was, “I don’t want to thumb the scale.”)
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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