President Barack Obama caused a big political buzz when he made a friendly gesture at a hopeful for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028.
The gesture has sparked talk that Obama could already have a favorite in the coming White House race.
The Daily Mail reported that Obama turned and pointed at California Gov. Gavin Newsom when the two men saw each other at a memorial service for civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Friday in Chicago.
Obama, standing between fellow former Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, then shook hands and “locked eyes” with Newsom in a moment that set tongues wagging, the Daily Mail said.
Newsom is leading the polls to be the Democratic Party candidate for president in 2028. Obama served two terms in the White House.
The funeral was heady with political buzz given the presence of the three ex-presidents as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was seated a few rows over from Obama.
Harris ran for president in 2024, after Biden dropped out of the race. Obama caught flak for not immediately endorsement Harris for the presidency.
Clinton and Biden got cheers and applause when they arrived at the House of Hope Church for the service, but Obama, who was introduced as “the South Side’s own, President Barack Obama” got the loudest round of applause.
Obama’s endorsement will be highly coveted by the Dems who will seek the presidency in three years.
Jackson ran for president twice and gave an electrifying speech at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988.
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