Obamas endorse Harris

• Obama — who endorsed Harris in a campaign email and video — said in a statement with former First Lady Michelle Obama: "This week, we got a chance to catch up with a friend who we've known for more than 20 years."
• "She'd had a pretty busy couple of days, to say the least. But we couldn't be more excited for her — or more thrilled to endorse Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States."
• In the video, both Obamas called Harris and said how proud they were of her. The former president said they will do everything they can "to get you through this election and into the Oval Office."
• Harris thanked them for their friendship and support, adding: "We're gonna have some fun with this too, aren't we?"

Catch up quick: Obama praised Biden's decision to withdraw from the race earlier this week, but didn't publicly back Harris at the time.

• "For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life," Obama said. "But I know he wouldn't make this decision unless he believed it was right for America."

Flashback: Obama had been an important surrogate for Biden's campaign.

• He took part in fundraisers in March and June that broke single-night fundraising records, per the Biden campaign.
• Obama has served as a sounding board for Harris over the two decades they've known each other, CNN reported.
• Michelle Obama is also an effective campaigner and, according to some polls, the most popular figure in American politics.

State of play: The Democratic National Committee is expected to formally select its nominee in a virtual roll call ahead of the party's convention, which starts on Aug. 19.

• Harris' campaign has reported record-setting donations and received a slew of high-profile endorsements since Biden endorsed her.

Go deeper: VP Harris releases first campaign ad featuring Beyoncé song