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Former US President Obama and current Vice President Harris | Getty Images

In a short video released by the Harris campaign on July 26, former U.S. President Obama and his wife Michelle Obama announced their support for current Vice President Kamala Harris to run for president.

The 55-second clip shows Harris walking towards her motorcade after an event while answering the phone.

“You two are so together, it’s great to hear your family’s voice,” Harris said enthusiastically.

"I want to say to my girl Harris: I'm so proud of you," Michelle said, adding that this would be a historic event.

Obama then said: "We're calling to tell you that Michelle and I are incredibly proud to support you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office."

Harris expressed her gratitude to the Obamas for their friendship and support.

US media reported that the much-anticipated endorsement dispelled any speculation that Harris, who is de facto the Democratic presidential candidate, did not have the full support of former President Obama and his wife, the most influential people in the Democratic political community.

The speculation stems from the fact that the Obamas did not formally express their support for Harris until five days after President Biden announced the end of his re-election campaign on July 21, which was several days later than other major Democratic politicians in the United States publicly supported Harris.

But according to NBC News, Obama kept in regular contact with Harris by phone throughout the week and offered advice on how to leverage the manpower, funding and logistics of what was once Biden's campaign team, allowing Harris to quickly build her campaign advantage almost overnight.

The Obamas are expected to attend campaign events hosted by Harris later this summer and fall to help excite Democratic voters, many of whom are already enthusiastic about Harris, the report said.

It is reported that the Democratic Party of the United States will hold its national convention in Chicago in August. Obama and Michelle will almost certainly deliver speeches at the convention. This will be the party’s first in-person convention since 2016.

Obama and Michelle

US media commented that in just five days from the time Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and Harris subsequently announced her participation in the presidential election, Harris quickly secured an absolute lead among the Democratic presidential candidates and blocked challenges from other politicians in the party. Her momentum is almost unprecedented in modern American politics.

In the first 24 hours after Biden dropped out of the race, Harris' campaign and the Democratic Party raised $81 million, setting a record for the fastest single-day fundraising. A more telling detail is that 500,000 of these donors were first-time donors to Harris' presidential campaign.

Harris also quickly narrowed the previous polling gap between Biden and former President Trump. In a poll released by The New York Times late Thursday (early morning of July 26 Beijing time), Harris was only one percentage point behind Republican presidential candidate Trump.

US media said that how the Harris campaign chose to package Obama's endorsement was noteworthy because it was released through a semi-casual video of a private phone call between old friends, and the format was novel and bore little resemblance to the traditional form of presidential campaign endorsements.

Typically, these politicians release their messages in the form of one-sided declarations written on letterhead or tweeted, with flowery praise for the presidential candidate. But the Harris team chose the unconventional approach, a video of a phone call, in keeping with the emerging political identity of the Harris campaign, which prioritizes personal relationships and avoids bombast or embarrassment.

Obama believes that Harris has the ability to build a strong campaign team to target Trump, and she has shown unstoppable momentum.

Harris is reportedly set to campaign in Georgia early next week, a state where her candidacy could revive the Democratic Party's electoral prospects.

Biden's withdrawal from the election provides Harris with a great opportunity to take office

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