Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday, including to the rising circle of distinguished Democrats throwing their h
Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday, including to the rising circle of distinguished Democrats throwing their help behind him because the social gathering works to coalesce earlier than the final election.
Mr. Gore introduced his help in a tweet shortly earlier than an Earth Day occasion the place he’s scheduled to seem, just about, with Mr. Biden. His endorsement adopted one earlier in the day from Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, who ran a climate-focused campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mr. Gore served as vice president under Bill Clinton and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2000. But two decades later, he is better known for his climate activism.
As vice president, he helped craft the Kyoto Protocol, which President George W. Bush abandoned in 2001 — just as President Trump abandoned its successor, the Paris Agreement, in 2017. As a private citizen, he made the climate change documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” His voice could be influential in an election in which voters have described climate change as one of the most important issues.
At the same time, though, Mr. Gore comes from a very different Democratic Party than the one that exists today, and served in an administration whose policies many Democrats, especially younger ones, now explicitly reject. His endorsement is not likely to sway the young progressives who voted largely for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and whom Mr. Biden needs to win over.
What Mr. Gore’s support does do is reinforce the central image Mr. Biden’s campaign is trying to present: a Democratic Party that has moved on quickly from its hard-fought primary and united around its presumptive nominee in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime threat.
Within weeks after he essentially wrapped up the nomination, Mr. Biden has received endorsements from former President Barack Obama, Mr. Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, another primary opponent.
His campaign has unveiled several major endorsements in quick succession as something of a show of force.