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Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden for president, promoting the firm character and deep experience of his former vice president, and urged supporters of Bernie Sanders to join the alleged Democratic candidate.
“Choosing Joe as my vice president was one of the best decisions I made, and he became a close friend and I think Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now,” Obama said in a video message Tuesday. .
He added: “Joe has the character and experience to guide us through one of our darkest moments and heal us through a long recovery. And I know you will surround yourself with good people. “
Obama’s endorsement came a day after Sanders publicly endorsed Biden. In a video conversation with Biden, shortly after finishing his own presidential campaign, Sanders said Biden was the Americans’ best option to defeat President Donald Trump in the November election, a man Sanders described as “President most dangerous of the modern history of this country. “
In his video message, Obama was more veiled in his criticism of the current administration.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden spent eight years working together at the White House © Shawn Thew / EPA / Shutterstock
He did not specifically mention Trump, but instead offered widespread criticism against the Republican party, which he said had tried to effectively take away some of his administration’s achievements by withdrawing from the Paris climate deal and trying to strip millions of Americans of health care. under the Affordable Care Act.
Obama also praised Sanders in an appeal to the Vermont senator’s loyal supporters.
“Bernie is an American original, a man who has dedicated his life to giving voice to the hopes, dreams and frustrations of working people,” said the former president. “He and I have not always agreed on everything. But we always share the conviction that we have to make the United States a fairer, fairer and more equitable society.”
During a Democratic primary that drew a field of more than 20 contenders, Obama had a sphinx presence.
His image appeared in political ads for Biden, Sanders, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who boasted of their close relationship with the former president. His name was also frequently invoked in debates.
Still, Obama was careful not to endorse any of the candidates or offer his endorsement, including to Biden, with whom he spent eight years working in the White House.
While Biden has tried to recreate the Democratic coalition that joined Obama’s candidacy in 2008, he fared worse than Obama among young voters, who mostly favored Sanders during the primaries.
Whether Biden performs better among voters under 35 in the general election, and whether that group goes out to vote, will likely depend on key campaign replacements, including Sanders and Obama.
The last-minute nature of Obama’s endorsement was mocked by the Trump campaign, which claimed that Obama had been reluctant to see his former vice president run.
According to the US media, Obama had urged Biden not to run for president four years ago against Hillary Clinton, a campaign that began shortly after Biden lost his son, Beau.
“Barack Obama spent much of the past five years urging Joe Biden not to run for president for fear of embarrassment,” Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “Now that Biden is the only candidate left on the Democratic field, Obama has no choice but to support him. . . Obama was right in the first place: Biden is a bad candidate who will embarrass himself and his party. “
Obama said he would start appearing in Biden’s election campaign as soon as he could. Both Biden and Trump have suspended campaign events in person until the coronavirus outbreak is contained.
