Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats.
The endorsement comes a day after Harris and President Joe Biden each met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is also expected to meet with Netanyahu on Friday. It’s the first time in nearly four years that Trump and Netanyahu have met.
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Netanyahu will meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, mending a years-long rift
As president, Donald Trump went well beyond his predecessors in fulfilling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top wishes from the United States. Yet by the time Trump left the White House, relations between the two had broken down after Netanyahu rapidly congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 presidential victory.
On Friday, the two men will meet face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years in a test of whether the relationship can be mended. Both have an interest in getting past their differences.
For Trump and Netanyahu, Friday’s meeting at Mar-a-Lago will highlight for their home audiences their depiction of themselves as strong leaders who have gotten big things done on the world stage and can again.
▶ Read more about the Florida meeting and the rift between the two men
Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats.
The endorsement, announced Friday in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris builds momentum as their party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
It also highlights the friendship and potentially historic link between the nation’s first Black president and the first woman, first Black woman and first person of Asian descent to serve as vice president, who is now vying to break those barriers at the presidential rank.
▶ Read more about the Obamas’ endorsement and what it means
Harris’ campaign joins TikTok
The handle “Kamala HQ” went live on Tuesday, following President Joe Biden’s campaign unveiling its own TikTok account on Super Bowl Sunday in February.
Both used the platform to reach young voters, despite the president signing a law that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell it or face a U.S. ban.
In her account’s first post, a grinning Harris says into the camera, “I thought I would get out here myself.”
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