Harry Reid endorses Biden’s White House bid

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday announced he was endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden in his bid for the White House. 

Reid lauded Biden as the candidate best fit to assemble the largest coalition to defeat President Trump and “lead our country following the trauma of Trump’s presidency.”

“Joe Biden’s strength of character and deep experience stand in the starkest contrast to Trump’s amorality, corruption and utter incompetence,” Reid said in a statement. 

“Biden will be a much-needed stabilizing force following Trump’s disastrous term, offering a positive and progressive alternative to Trump’s dark vision of racism, xenophobia and policies built on cruelty and exclusion. I believe Biden is best able to defeat Donald Trump and enact the policies we all care about.”

Reid’s high-profile endorsement followed a wave of incoming support for Biden a day before the crucial Super Tuesday races, including from his former opponent Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). 

Klobuchar is expected to announce Monday she will be ending her campaign and backing the longtime former senator. 

Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race Sunday and is also set to endorse Biden, according to a source close to the Biden campaign. 

Reid praised the field in his endorsement, calling the party “fortunate” for a “tremendous field of talented candidates this year.” 

“I have the deepest respect and admiration for Senators [Bernie] Sanders [I-Vt.], [Elizabeth] Warren [D-Mass.] and Klobuchar and Mayor Bloomberg. They’re among the brightest leaders in our party, and they’ve made invaluable contributions to this race and our country,” he added. 

Sanders’s campaign manager Faiz Shakir called Reid’s endorsement “disappointing.” 

“Disappointing. I’ll forever have respect and love for Senator Reid. But I’m old enough to remember when he thought Biden’s ideas were worthy of being put in a fireplace,” Shakir, who used to work for Reid, tweeted with a link to a HuffPost story from 2013 about then-Majority Leader Reid.

Disappointing. I’ll forever have respect and love for Senator Reid. But I’m old enough to remember when he thought Biden’s ideas were worthy of being put in a fireplace. https://t.co/eQ4pGjYxiB https://t.co/iWI40OVRim

— Faiz (@fshakir) March 2, 2020

The surge of endorsements for Biden continues the momentum for his campaign just two days after he easily won the South Carolina primary to gain his first victory in the race for the White House.

Fifteen states and territories will head to the polls for Super Tuesday with key delegate counts in California and Texas up for grabs.