Chicago.– Hillary Clinton was in Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday, July 21, the day President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, when her phone rang.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had already received a call from the same number, so she knew who wanted to talk to her.
Vice President Kamala Harris called her to say she was running for president and hoped to receive her endorsement as soon as possible, Mrs. Clinton did not hesitate: she told the vice president that she supported her.
The Clintons were quick to endorse him before many of the party’s leaders, including the Obamas, did.
As Democrats revolted against Mr. Biden’s reelection this summer, Ms. Clinton declined to participate in their pressure on him, according to people familiar with the proceedings.
Behind the scenes, however, she was also certain that if the president decided to decline, Harris should become the party’s nominee.
The two women, who once stood on opposite sides of the contentious 2008 Democratic primary, have quietly bonded in recent years, sharing dinners at the Clintons’ Washington home, discussing high-stakes decisions like whom Harris should choose as her running mate and commenting on the ways in which women in high office can be underappreciated.
On Monday night, Mrs. Clinton, who was on the cusp of becoming the nation’s first female president, passed the baton to a woman nearly two decades younger, at a time when the friendship comes with a mix of bittersweetness and pride for Mrs. Clinton.
The last time Mrs. Clinton stood on the convention stage, dressed in white, she thought she was about to become the next president.
A lot has happened since then —- from Mrs. Clinton’s grieving to her eventual acceptance of defeat in 2016, to the rise of a new generation of Democratic leaders.
The United States now appears to be more comfortable having women running for the nation’s highest office, a shift that was certainly advanced by Mrs. Clinton’s candidacies.
The former secretary of state is fully aware of how challenging it will be to defeat Trump and the nasty personal attacks that await Harris.
“Harris’ victory in November will be like ‘double karma’ for Mrs. Clinton, who would be very pleased that Trump lost to a woman,” said Philippe Reines, a former Clinton adviser.
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