Obama Endorses Biden For President, As Party Coalesces Around 2020 Candidate

Obama’s endorsement comes one day after Biden earned another major endorsement from primary foe Sen. Bernie Sanders, who dropped out last week and announced he was backing the former vice president in a live stream on Monday. 

“I’m so proud to endorse Joe Biden for President of the United States,” Obama said Tuesday. “Choosing Joe to be my Vice President was one of the best decisions I ever made, and he became a close friend…Joe has the character and experience to guide us through one of our darkest times.”

Obama stayed on the sidelines of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary — a practice former presidents typically follow — even as his former running mate struggled to maintain his lead.

President Trump, nonetheless, sought to raise questions last week when he wondered aloud why Obama had yet to announce he was supporting Biden, saying opaquely that, “He knows something that you don’t know, that I think I know, but you don’t know.”

Obama offered advice to several candidates during the primary, speaking with former Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg before he exited the race and even pressuring Sanders to drop out, as the New York Times reports.

Obama waited until June to back Hillary Clinton in 2016 before emerging as a powerful surrogate, regularly stumping for the then-Democratic nominee in the final months of the election season.