From 2008-2016, Americans witnessed the bromance between former president Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the now presumptive presidential Democratic nominee unfold before our eyes. And for those who have missed the seemingly genuine friendship play out in real-time, the “best friends” as Biden previously labeled them, are bringing us a treat. On Thursday, the two reunite for a “socially distant conversation” on presidential leadership.
The trailer for the much-anticipated conversation dropped on Wednesday morning, and Twitter has given it their stamp of approval. With more than 235,000 likes and 60,000 retweets, an Obama/Biden conversation is clearly the content we’ve been missing from a rather quiet campaign season.
In a press release shared with ESSENCE, the Biden campaign described the meetup they’re calling a “socially distant conversation” as a coming together of the two former colleagues to discuss our nation’s future at a critical time. “During a time when thoughtful, compassionate and steady leadership is missing from our highest office, it is important to remind the American people of how true leadership responds to our most desperate moments,” the Biden campaign tells ESSENCE. “By underlining the stark differences between the two administrations — from the handling of a public health crisis, to job creation and systemic race relations during an economic recovery — President Obama, and millions of Americans, are banking on the VP’s experience, heart and character to bring our country together.”
In a tweet promoting the talk, Biden shares a snippet of the conversation touching on Trump’s efforts to divide the nation. “The words of a president matter,” he wrote. “And from the moment President Trump came down that escalator, he has used his to degrade people and sow division. It’s not who we are.”
In conversation, Biden reiterates that sentiment. “There’s two ways in which presidents motivate people: by doing something really ennobling, important,” Biden says, “or to do something really bad.” The presidential candidate insists that Trump has done the latter, deliberately dividing people to the point where Americans are waking up every day and thinking to themselves that they want a better country for their children to grow up in.
President Obama, who ran on the promise of change, revisits his rallying cry while offering reasons as to why Biden is better suited to bring about that vastly improved nation that so many are yearning for.
“You know what it’s like as much as anybody to be in the White House during a crisis. You know what it’s like to have to get laws passed through Congress. You know what it’s like to deal with foreign leaders. You know what it’s like, and how lonely it can be, to make tough decisions — where not every decision is going to be perfect, but you gotta make them and take responsibility for it,” Obama asserts. “And the thing I’ve got confidence in Joe, is your heart and your character, and the fact that you are going to be able to reassemble the kind of government that cares about people and brings people together.”
The full conversation between former vice president Biden and former president Obama is happening Thursday on Twitter. Supporters can text TOGETHER to 30330 to be notified when it’s live.