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While there has been much speculation regarding Joe and Jill Biden’s stances on Kamala Harris, Democratic campaign advisor Lindy Li informed NewsNation‘s Natasha Zouves that former President Barack Obama was unhappy with the president’s decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. According to Li, neither Obama nor 52nd Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were supportive of Harris’ nomination and would have preferred a Democratic primary. Li’s statements indicate that when Joe endorsed Harris for president, he stirred the rumored feud between himself and Obama by endorsing Harris instead of pushing for a primary.
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When Joe initially stepped down and decided not to run for a second presidential term, Obama wrote in an official statement via Medium that he had faith that the Democratic party would choose the right nominee, but he never expressed that to be Harris. “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama wrote. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
Li told NewsNation that Obama showed interest in Arizona Senator Mark Kelly for the Democratic presidential nominee, but that the former president wasn’t completely opposed to Harris running against Trump, and he just wanted a few more candidates for the public to choose from. Although, when asked if she thinks Obama and Pelosi did not want Harris to instantly get the nominee, Li replied, “I know they didn’t.”
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What exactly did Lindy Li say about Joe Biden endorsing Kamala Harris?
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Lindy Li told NewsNation that she was baffled when Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris for president and announced his decision to not run in the 2024 presidential election on the same day, and it’s likely that Barack Obama felt similarly, based on Li’s recounting of the events. “Obama and Pelosi were both hoping for a primary instead of a coronation so to speak,” Li told Natasha Zouves. “I don’t think anyone saw that coming. We did not see that coming. I think a lot of people anticipated that he might have stepped aside, but no one anticipated a twofer that we got that day.”
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Li implied that Biden endorsing Harris was a shock to Obama, who already had a rumored feud with Biden over Biden’s possible run for president in 2016. Biden was allegedly perturbed by the fact that several Obama advisors urged the president not to run for the Democratic nominee in 2016, a role that eventually went to Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election against Donald Trump. According to Axios, various Biden aides stated that if Obama had encouraged him not to run in 2024, Biden probably would have done the opposite. It seems as though the conflicting voices within the Democratic party cause many rifts, and it doesn’t seem like the bad blood between Obama and Biden will be resolved anytime soon.
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