Former President Barack Obama had been radio silent for the duration of the 2020 Democratic primary race.
Tuesday he hit the airwaves full force.
He endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party’s biggest fundraiser and one of the far-left’s most popular figures.
“Joe has the character and the experience to guide us through one of our darkest times, and heal us through a long recovery,” Obama said. “And I know he’ll surround himself with good people.”
You can view the video below:
President Donald Trump’s campaign was critical of the message.
They say the endorsement looks like Obama, sounds like Obama… but wonder, is it really Obama’s choice?
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale noted that “Barack Obama spent much of the last five years urging Joe Biden not to run for president out of fear that he would embarrass himself. ”
“Now that Biden is the only candidate left in the Democrat field, Obama has no other choice but to support him,” Parscale said.
“Obama was right in the first place: Biden is a bad candidate who will embarrass himself and his party,” he added.
Others say Obama remains too controversial to help Biden in November.
Former George W. Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, appearing on Fox News, said: “The American people don’t measure politicians on who endorses them.”
He also noted that last election cycle, Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run –– and look who is in the White House.
The endorsement marked Obama’s return to presidential politics more than three years after leaving the White House. He didn’t mention his successor, Trump, by name and instead sought to bridge the divide among far-left Democrats angry at the way Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-V.T., was treated during the primary.
Obama spent a sizable portion of the video acknowledging the contributions of Sanders. The Vermont senator ended his campaign last week before endorsing Biden on Monday, reportedly at the behest of Obama.
The former president called Sanders an “American original” and backed his frequent call for “structural change.” But he also acknowledged that while Democrats “may not always agree on every detail,” they must unify to defeat Republicans.
Obama avoided intervening in the Democratic primary, but followed the race closely from the sidelines and is eager to take an active public role in the campaign. He’s expected to headline fundraisers for Biden and public events in key swing states, if those events can still be held given social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.
Though Obama stayed out of the primary, Biden frequently pointed to their time together in the White House.
Obama’s legacy has remained controversial even among Democrats.
Julian Castro, 45, pushed Biden repeatedly on whether he argued with Obama privately over deportations overseen by that administration.
Pete Buttigieg, 38, and Beto O’Rourke, 47, subtly jabbed Biden – and by extension Obama — by suggesting the party shouldn’t “return to the past.” Sanders and Warren said the 2010 Affordable Care Act hadn’t gone far enough.
But Biden was a staunch defender of that legislation and called it “bizarre” for Democrats to attack Obama’s record.
He dusted off a line he’d used many times before while campaigning in South Carolina: “I’m a proud Obama-Biden Democrat,” Biden said.
Obama was watching. His sideline approach nearing its end, he called his former vice president that night to congratulate him on his victory.
The Associated Press contributed to this article