Former President Barack Obama told young Americans their generation “can be the one that creates a new normal in America” in a video message released Tuesday evening before he hits the campaign trail for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“Hey, everybody, one of the most inspiring things about this year has been to see so many young Americans fired up, organizing, marching and fighting for change,” Obama said in a video posted to his Twitter account.
“Your generation can be the one that creates a new normal in America. One that’s fairer, where the system treats everybody equally and gives everybody opportunity,” he continued.
“We can come out of this moment stronger than before.”
The message aimed at young voters comes the night before Obama is set to hit the campaign trail for Biden in the final stretch of the election, starting with a speech in Philadelphia on Wednesday evening.
Obama intends to focus his efforts on early voting states in the final two weeks of the race, Democratic officials previously told CNN.
The former president will not aggressively barnstorm swing states, but rather intends to visit a handful of critical battlegrounds where voting is underway.
The events will be socially distanced — similar to the tactics adopted by the Biden campaign during the coronavirus pandemic — but are designed to garner local media coverage in key areas. President Donald Trump’s campaign has dispatched far more surrogates ahead of the election — along with the President’s rallies — and the Obama visits are designed to help Biden draw more attention in places where voting is happening.
Obama’s return to the campaign trail could energize Democratic voters in the final weeks before the election, as the former president remains among the Democratic Party’s most popular figures.
The Biden campaign believes Obama can help in three particular areas, officials say: Black men, Latinos and young voters.
Turning to Biden in his video message Tuesday, Obama said he knows his onetime partner “better than almost anybody.”
“I trust him to be a great president. He’s different. He’s on the right side of the issues,” he said.
“He’ll get the job done. And Joe and Kamala will want you to keep pushing them to get the job done.”
