Obama to champion Harris as future of country in DNC speech: Source

Former President Barack Obama’s highly anticipated speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night is expected to be a full-circle moment between him and Vice President Kamala Harris as he plans to champion her experience and demonstrate that she is the best person for the job.

In recent months, Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have been in close contact with the vice president and have supported her campaign in every way possible, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.

In his speech Tuesday, Obama will explain why Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are the leaders the country needs right now, a source familiar with the speech told ABC News. He will outline the task facing Democrats over the next 11 weeks and highlight the values ​​at stake in this election that are at the heart of our politics, the source said.

The speech is expected to touch on the 20 years of friendship and political camaraderie between Harris and Obama. The two men met at a fundraiser when Obama was running for the Illinois Senate seat and Harris was serving as San Francisco district attorney.

In 2008, when then-Senator Barack Obama was running for president, Harris was one of his early supporters in the Democratic primaries. In December 2007, she was even on the ground in Iowa, knocking on doors to advocate for Obama to caucus voters.

Harris spoke about her dedication to the Obama campaign at a 2019 presidential campaign event, recalling a moment when a caucus-goer told her, “They’re not going to let him win.”

“And I stepped back in my mind and looked at what I was seeing,” she said at an event in Des Moines in 2019. “Over those 85 years at least, all the indignities, all the injustices that she had experienced and witnessed, and at that age in her life, she was not prepared to experience another disappointment or indignity. And so, being myself, I decided that I was not going to leave here.”

Harris recalls speaking with the voter for longer and eventually seeing her at the polls the next day.

“So we know that when we don’t sit back and wait for someone else to give us permission to tell us what’s possible, we make what’s possible possible. We make it happen,” she said.

Obama endorsed Harris in 2010 when she ran for California attorney general and appeared at a rally in Los Angeles where he called her a “dear, dear friend.”

“I want everyone to do the right thing for her,” he told the crowd.

Harris will speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and continue to make her case for Obama.

“President Obama joined me and 48 other attorneys general to take on the banks and get $25 billion for struggling homeowners. That’s leadership,” she said. “That’s what President Obama did. And that’s why we need to give him four more years.”

In 2013, Obama praised Harris at a fundraiser in California, but his comments got him into trouble at the time.

“She’s brilliant, dedicated and tough, and she’s exactly what you want in someone who administers the law and makes sure everyone is treated fairly. She’s also by far the most beautiful attorney general in the country,” he said.

The comment about Harris’ appearance sparked backlash, deeming it sexist and inappropriate, and he apologized the next day.

Obama would continue to support Harris as she ran for the U.S. Senate in 2016 and later as Joe Biden’s running mate on the 2020 presidential ticket.

The former president and former first lady have been in regular contact with Harris over the years, providing advice and also serving as a sounding board, a source familiar with the Obamas told ABC News.

On July 26, five days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, the Obamas officially endorsed Harris.