Former Vice President and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden published a video Tuesday in which he appeared to use a speech by former President Barack Obama as an unofficial endorsement.
Serving as @BarackObama‘s Vice President was a privilege and an honor. We share the belief that America is a place where ordinary people do extraordinary things and anything is possible. pic.twitter.com/Y5rXEijgIu
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 30, 2019
“This is an extraordinary man,” Obama begins, in a speech where he gave Biden the Medal of Freedom. “With an extraordinary career in public service. Somebody who has devoted his entire professional life to service to this country.”
“He revitalized American manufacturing,” Obama’s voiceover continues. “As the head of our middle-class task force, he fought to make college more affordable. He suited up for our cancer moonshot, giving hope to millions of Americans. Joe’s candid counsel has made me a better president.”(RELATED: Joe Biden Can’t Keep His Thoughts Straight)
“He could not have been a more effective partner in the progress that we’ve made. The best part is he’s nowhere close to finished,” Obama concluded.
Biden formally announced that he was running for president last week, and his former commander-in-chief announced that he would not be making an endorsement in the race this early on.
Biden then said he asked Obama not to endorse him, asserting that he wanted to see if he could make a dent on his own first, and make sure that the Democratic primary was untouched by Obama’s influence.
Here’s the video of Biden telling reporters he asked Obama to not endorse him: I asked President Obama not to endorse and he doesn’t want to — whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits. pic.twitter.com/9qAmfyuSI4
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) April 25, 2019
The former vice president’s most recent ad suggests that he certainly wants as close to an Obama endorsement as he can get. Obama’s words appear aimed at boosting the vice president’s jobs resume, and mirror past language Biden’s made in the past in his efforts to draw union support.
Obama’s words also reached out to the social justice progressive wing of the party, endorsing the former vice president on marriage inequality, sexual assault and the #MeToo movement, as well as advance his work on affordable healthcare and college.