Former President Barack Obama has been in regular touch with Vice President Kamala Harris since she emerged as the likely Democratic nominee to share his experiences — and is expected to endorse her soon, according to people familiar with the situation.

Obama’s name had been notably absent from the succession of top Democrats lining up to support Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race Sunday. But Obama has been active behind the scenes, serving as a sounding board to Harris and checking in with former aides who he thinks can help her cause, they said.

The former president had been reluctant to endorse Harris too quickly to avoid the perception that he was overseeing her coronation, but also to give his friend and former running mate Biden time to process his wrenching decision to step aside.

Obama has told people close to him that he has been impressed with the start of Harris’ campaign and amused by a spate of stories claiming that he was holding out because he had doubts about Harris, whom he has known for two decades.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss their private conversations.

It is not clear if Obama has spoken to Biden since Sunday, but the two men had been communicating regularly in the weeks leading up to Biden’s decision, which he made after veteran Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pressured him to quit after a catastrophic debate performance last month.

Obama’s feelings about Biden’s capacity to run for reelection remain opaque. But some people close to Biden bitterly resent the role that vocal former Obama aides played in trying to force him out.

Obama’s endorsement delay came as no surprise to people close to him. He adopted an identical stance before the 2020 election, when Biden’s aides pressured him to endorse early in the Democratic primaries before Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out. (Obama’s favored phrase back then was, “I don’t want to thumb the scale.”)

Shortly after Biden announced his decision to quit — quickly followed by his endorsement of Harris — Obama posted an affectionate, if somewhat formal tribute on Medium that did not mention her once.

“Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me,” he wrote. Obama chose Biden as his running mate in 2008 because he said at the time that he wanted an older, more experienced running mate with “gray in his hair” and limited future presidential ambitions.

“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama wrote in the post. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

The New York Times News Service