The New York Times allegedly explained why Barack Obama did not endorse Kamala immediately. They say he doesn’t want to be seen as influencing the situation and wants to give Biden this time to celebrate his accomplishments [whatever they are].
In a statement on Medium when Biden withdrew from the race, Obama was vague:
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama wrote in the post. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
Republicans interpreted that as a snub, according to the Times. However, people close to Obama, who is allegedly positioned as an impartial elder statesman above intraparty machinations, said not to read too much into it. He had no alternate candidate in mind when he decided not to endorse Harris immediately.
Obama did the same thing four years ago when Biden’s aides pressured him to endorse early in the Democratic primaries before Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out.
He allegedly didn’t want to put his thumb on the scale.
Endorsing too early now would also be a political mistake — fueling criticism that Harris’ nomination, should it come, was a coronation rather than the best possible consensus under rushed circumstances, they said.
Instead, Obama sees his role as helping to quickly “unite the party once we have a nominee,” a person familiar with his thinking said.
According to the Times, there is another issue:
Biden is a deeply prideful man. He has never fully forgiven Obama for quietly backing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign. Biden still believes he could have beaten former President Donald Trump that year if given the chance. People in his circle have said Biden was not pleased when Obama told him that he should consider sitting out 2020, too.
Obama wanted Sunday to be about Biden, a celebration of his accomplishments — and does not feel pressured to act hastily, according to a former White House official who regularly speaks with the former president, reports the Times.
Are you buying this? Obama’s not pulling the strings. He’s an elder statesman. Whenever Democrats say anything, I feel I’m being played.
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