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Home • Politics

Barack Obama Formally Endorses Joe Biden In Video Announcement

After remaining neutral for months, the former president has officially thrown his support behind his former vice-president.
Barack Obama Formally Endorses Joe Biden In Video Announcement
Getty Images
By Tanya A. Christian · Updated November 4, 2020

Former President Barack Obama has formally endorsed Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States. Obama made the announcement on Tuesday, posting a nearly 12-minute video on YouTube detailing his decision.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned as a country from moments of great crisis, it’s that the spirit of looking out for one another can’t be restricted to our homes, or our workplaces, or our neighborhoods, or our houses of worship,” Obama says in the announcement. “It also has to be reflected in our national government.”  

The former commander in chief goes on to say that Biden represents the type of leadership that’s guided by “knowledge and experience, honesty and humility, empathy and grace” before asserting that those qualities are what’s needed in the White House.

Article continues after video.
In a nearly 12-minute YouTube video, former President Barack Obama shows public support for his VP and formally endorsed Joe Biden.

The announcement marks the first time Obama has shown public support for a specific candidate during the 2020 election season. In the running were a number of close associates like Elizabeth Warren, whom he appointed to be the assistant to the president and special advisor to the secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Julian Castro, the former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary during the Obama administration. Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick is also said to be a close family friend.

“We have a field of very accomplished, very serious and passionate and smart people who have a history of public service,” Obama said at a fundraiser in late 2019. “Whoever emerges from the primary process, I will work my tail off to make sure they are the next president.”

Barack Obama Formally Endorses Joe Biden In Video Announcement
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 09: US President Barack Obama speaks to the media during a meeting with members of his national security team and cybersecurity advisors in the Roosevelt Room at the White House February 9, 2016 in Washington, DC. Also pictured is US Vice President Joe Biden. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

It appears that the well-respected leader is ready to do just that. And Biden, who has often touted his friendship with the former president during his campaign, is more than happy to have his support. In a tweet, the presumptive Democratic nominee said, “Barack—This endorsement means the world to Jill and me. We’re going to build on the progress we made together, and there’s no one I’d rather have standing by my side.”

TOPICS:  2020 presidential elections Barack Obama Joe Biden Joe Biden 2020 Joe Biden endorsements