Former president Barack Obama hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris’ presidential bid because he doesn’t think she can beat Donald Trump, according to a source close to the Biden family.
Following Joe Biden’s shock resignation from the race on Sunday, and his immediate endorsement of the vice president, most of the Democratic elite have been quick to rally behind Harris — but Obama is a notable exception.
“Obama’s very upset because he knows she can’t win,” the Biden family source told The Post.
“Obama knows she’s just incompetent — the border czar who never visited the border, saying that all migrants should have health insurance. She cannot navigate the landmines that are ahead of her.”
“When you are running for president there are things you can and can’t say.”
The turning point for Biden, 81, came after his disastrous performance against Trump in a televised debate in Atlanta last month which, The Post first revealed, was part of an “elaborate set-up” to remove him from the race.
But the source doesn’t have high hopes for a TV debate between Trump and Harris. When Biden was still in the race, a second debate was scheduled for September 10.
“Wait until the debate… She can’t debate. She’s going to put her foot in her mouth about Israel, Palestine, Ukraine. She’s going to say something really stupid,” the source said.
“Obama knew this was going to happen, Joe knew this was going to happen. Now she is going to have to answer real questions.”
The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on this story.
According to the source, Obama’s hope was to get Biden out of the way and an article written by George Clooney in the New York Times asking him to step aside was a part of that plan.
However, the higher ups in the Democratic Party didn’t count on Biden endorsing Harris right away and “Obama was shocked” when Joe endorsed her, according to the insider.
After Biden’s ouster, Obama — who did not return a request for comment Wednesday — wanted Arizona Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly “at the top of the ticket” when the Democratic National Convention is held next month, the source said.
Obama is “furious,” things haven’t gone his way, which is why he is not joining in the Democratic Party’s support of Harris,” the Biden source added.
Another well-placed Democrat source said, “Obama being surprised by a smart political decision actually makes sense when coupled with his personal inability to see politics beyond his singular, immediate interests.
“Obama always thinks he is the smartest and coolest guy in the room. He’s friends with George Clooney, after all.”
Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor of Illinois who denounced Obama as a “threat to democracy” in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Tuesday, told The Post he believes “Obama was instrumental” to getting Biden out of the race.
Blagojevich, a former Democrat who is now supporting Trump, was governor of Illinois when Obama became a state senator in 2005.
“It [Biden’s departure from the race] couldn’t have happened without him [Obama],” Blagojevich told The Post.
“Without Obama, Biden is still the Democratic nominee. Obama was the conductor leading the orchestra that convinced Biden to step aside.”
Obama ended his role as Illinois senator when he was elected president in 2008, while Blagojevich was impeached in 2009 for attempting to sell Obama’s vacant senate seat, removed from office and convicted on corruption charges a year later.
Obama persuading Biden not to run for the presidency in 2016, in order to allow Hillary Clinton a shot at the White House, has also since been a sticking point between them, according to reports.
“He was not encouraging,” Biden later told the New York Times, referring to the former President, who believed at the time that the former Secretary of State had a better chance of beating Trump.
“He’s running the Democratic party like a Chicago ward boss from the shadows in the back room,” Blagojevich continued. “In this case it’s a big backroom because he has a lot of big houses.
The debate will be a disaster. Trump will be his bombastic self and Harris will repeatedly shout "I am speaking!"
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