WASHINGTON – Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in a brief video released Friday by the Harris campaign.

The 55-second clip shows the vice chairman walking backstage at an event, approaching her motorcade and taking a call over the loudspeaker.

“Oh, hello, you two are together! Oh, it's nice to hear you both,” Harris says warmly.

““I can't make this call without saying to my friend Kamala: I'm pleased with you,” says Michelle Obama. “This goes to be historic.”

The former president then said, “We called to say: Michelle and I couldn't be prouder to support you and do the whole lot we are able to to get you thru this election and into the Oval Office.”

Harris thanks them for their friendship and adds: “We are going to have fun with it.”

The highly anticipated expressions of support put an end to any speculation that Harris, the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, may not enjoy the full support of the most popular couple in Democratic politics.

The questions arise from the fact that the Obamas' endorsement came just days after the rest of the party's leaders publicly threw their support behind Harris, shortly after President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was ending his re-election campaign.

But NBC News reported this week that Barack Obama was in regular contact with Harris throughout the week by phone and offered advice on how to build her own campaign organization virtually overnight, leveraging the staff, money and logistics of the former Biden campaign.

Later this summer and fall, both Obamas are also expected to hit the campaign trail to wow Democratic voters, many of whom are already excited about Harris.

And both Barack and Michelle Obama can be virtually certain that they will snag a coveted speaking slot at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, the first in-person convention since 2016.

The pace at which Harris' campaign has gained momentum in the first five days is virtually unprecedented in modern politics.

In the first 24 hours after Biden's exit, her campaign and the Democratic Party raised $81 million. A potentially more telling detail is that 500,000 of those donors gave to Harris' presidential campaign for the first time.

Harris also appears to have closed Biden's lead over former President Donald Trump in the polls, as she is only one percentage point behind the Republican candidate in the US. New York Times poll average late Thursday.

Obama's endorsement was also notable for the way in which the Harris team packaged it. A semi-casual video of a personal phone call between old friends bears little resemblance to the normal format of a presidential endorsement campaign.

Usually they’re released as one-page statements on letterhead or via Twitter that sing the candidate's praises. But that was not the case here.

While the video of the decision was not traditional, it was consistent with the emerging political nature of Harris' campaign, which prioritizes personal relationships, eschews pomp and welcomes discomfort.

The understated packaging of such useful support also suggests that the Obamas, each impressive speakers, could also be waiting for the fitting moment to make use of their oratorical skills for max impact.

Harris just isn’t making any public appearances on Friday. She is predicted to campaign in Georgia early next week, a state where her candidacy could revive the Democrats' electoral probabilities.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton sought to limit the damage Friday following President Joe Biden's blunder in the talk along with his November election opponent, former President Donald Trump.

“There are bad debate nights too. Trust me, I know that. But this election is still a decision between someone who has fought for the common people his whole life and someone who only cares about himself.” Obama said in a post on X that links to Biden's campaign website. “Last night didn't change that, and that's why there's so much at stake in November.”

Several hours later, Clinton imitated the defensive play.

“I leave the evaluation of the debates to the experts, but I know one thing: facts and history are important.” Clinton he said in his own post on X, then added a brief list of Biden's accomplishments.

During Thursday's 90-minute showdown, Biden often stumbled, pausing mid-sentence to gather his words and stumbling over his sentences. The blunders occurred even on issues like abortion and the economy, on which he typically makes compelling statements at campaign and White House events.

The messages from Obama and Clinton mark a change in strategy by the Democrats, who are attempting to correct their course after Thursday's flop.

Much of the Democrats' arguments immediately after the talk focused on downplaying Biden's glaring mistakes, as an alternative attacking Trump's performance and giving Biden a generous rating.

“As the night progresses, I feel [Biden] “He really rose to the occasion,” Biden's co-campaign manager Mitch Landrieu told NBC News on Thursday night after the talk. “I'm proud that he stood up to Donald Trump.”

Obama and Clinton's comments represent a brand new tactic: acknowledging the talk disaster after which telling the general public to not listen to it.

Biden himself followed up on this statement on Friday at a rally in North Carolina: “Folks, I don't walk as easily as I used to. I don't speak as fluently as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to. But I know what I know: I know how to tell the truth.”

But debates matter to voters. After the September 2020 debate, a series of polls found that voters thought Biden did a greater job, helping him maintain his lead over Trump.

The presidential race has been nearly deadlocked thus far this 12 months, and each candidates are more likely to win by a narrow margin in November, leaving little room for error.

In the times for the reason that debate, Democrats have fearful in regards to the impact it may need on the perceptions of voters who’re already fearful about Biden's age and his ability to guide the country for one more 4 years.

Some Democratic strategists, donors and experts have already suggested that Biden should drop out of the race and reopen the Democratic field to potentially stronger candidates.

The Biden team has thus far rejected this proposal. Biden and Trump are scheduled to face one another in a second and final debate on September 10.