Former President Barack Obama has officially endorsed Joe Biden’s bid to become the next president of the US.
The two-term president relayed his approval for Biden in a video message Tuesday originally posted on Twitter.
“Choosing Joe to be my vice president was one of the best decisions I ever made, and he became a close friend. And I believe Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now,” Obama said in part, in the video message.
Obama also spoke briefly about the coronavirus and how he believes Biden is someone who will be able to bring the country together during these times and would put the country above his own agenda:
“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 – experts, scientists, military officials who actually know how to run the government and care about doing a good job running the government, and know how to work with our allies, and who will always put the American people’s interests above their own.”
Despite his endorsement of Biden over Bernie Sanders, Obama let it be known that he has no qualms with him:
“Bernie’s an American original – a man who has devoted his life to giving voice to working people’s hopes, dreams, and frustrations,” Obama said. “He and I haven’t always agreed on everything, but we’ve always shared a conviction that we have to make America a fairer, more just, more equitable society.”
Obama then went on to say that both Biden and Sanders understand that the world has changed and what needs to be done to ensure our future.
“If I were running today, I wouldn’t run the same race or have the same platform as I did in 2008. The world is different; there’s too much unfinished business for us to just look backwards. We have to look to the future,” Obama said.
“Bernie understands that. And Joe understands that. It’s one of the reasons that Joe already has what is the most progressive platform of any major party nominee in history,” Obama said. “Because even before the pandemic turned the world upside down, it was already clear that we needed real structural change.”