What Obama really thinks about Biden's replacement

They're meant to be old friends, so where is the ex-president when his party's likely nominee needs him? Alex Hannaford talks to people who know them and can explain his silence

Back in 2020, shortly after Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his pick for the vice-presidential nomination, the Biden/Harris campaign posted a short video on its social media channels. It took the format of a folksy, light-hearted video chat between Harris and former president Barack Obama.

The former president, looking relaxed in an open-necked shirt and dark suit, tells her the work can be gruelling and asks if she has any tips to get through the day. Harris replies that she works out every morning, regardless of how much sleep she’s had. He asks what music she listens to; she says Mary J Blige. She then asks about his relationship with Biden; what does she need to know about the man who worked for him as vice-president from 2009 to 2017?

Obama says Biden likes ice cream, pasta with red sauce, and that he loves his aviator sunglasses. “He knows he looks good in them,” he adds, signing off with a jovial “Make sure you get those workouts in, get enough sleep and stay healthy.” The former California senator from Oakland and now America’s first female vice-president had the endorsement of one of the most popular public figures in America.

After that November’s election, when Biden and Harris emerged victorious, former first lady Michelle Obama tweeted her congratulations: “I’m beyond thrilled that my friend Joe Biden and our first Black and Indian-American woman vicepresident, Kamala Harris, are headed to restore some dignity, competence, and heart at the White House. Our country sorely needs it.”

Fast-forward to today, and with Biden now out of the race and a raft of endorsements from high-profile politicians in her party for Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee for president, one name is conspicuous by its absence: Barack Obama. It’s an omission so glaring that it’s generated headlines across the world. The question is: why hasn’t that endorsement by such an imposing presence in the Democratic Party come?