Obama and Pelosi fail to endorse Harris as they praise Biden
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Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have refrained from endorsing Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy amid Joe Biden's withdrawal.
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Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama shake hands on stage, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2022 (AP)
Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama both failed to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, following Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race.
Former President Barack Obama released a statement saluting Biden on his "patriotic" decision to drop out of the race. While Obama highlighted the incumbent president's competency and extensively hailed Biden's record throughout his political career, nowhere in the statement was there any mention of Harris.
Instead, Obama said he had "extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges," although Biden himself endorsed Kamala, who took it upon herself to allegedly defeat Trump in the upcoming elections.
Similarly, Pelosi took to X to welcome Biden's withdrawal but refrained from mentioning Kamala Harris.
President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 21, 2024
With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of…
No funding for Harris
John Morgan, a significant contributor to the US Democratic Party, has also declared that he will withhold financial support from the party if Vice President Kamala Harris is chosen as the presidential candidate, according to an ABC News report on Monday.
"It's one thing to vote for somebody; it's another thing to raise millions of dollars for somebody; you have to really be in," he said, adding that he had already informed the Biden National Finance Committee of his decision amid doubts of Harris' chances of winning against Trump.
"If she's a nominee, Mar a Lago [Trump's residence] has a real big party that night," Morgan added.
Read more: Democrats raise $47mln, 'biggest funding' after Harris replaces Biden
'Worse than Biden'
Donald Trump's campaign team quickly responded to Biden's endorsement of Harris, sharply criticizing her potential leadership.
"Harris will be even worse for the people of our nation than Joe Biden. Harris has been the Enabler in Chief for Crooked Joe this entire time. They own each other's records, and there is no distance between the two," the campaign said in a statement.
The Republican camp was swift to denounce both Harris and Biden, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, stressing that Biden must resign as President "immediately".
"If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough," said Johnson.
