Hillary Clinton, the would-be first woman president, has given her dubious blessing to vice president Kamala Harris as she launches a risky presidential campaign against Clinton's ex-rival Donald Trump.
A veteran of the Democratic establishment, Clinton is making it clear she supports the party machine as Harris lines up endorsements following Joe Biden's decision to forgo re-election.
In an endorsement on Facebook, Clinton highlighted some of the main talking points of Harris' emerging campaign: Trump's criminal conviction in a polarizing, Democrat-led prosecution, and the alleged extremism of Trump's platform, particularly on abortion.
Clinton, who lost to Trump in a shocking upset in 2016, contrasted Harris' past as a prosecutor with Trump's status as a "convicted felon."
"I've known Kamala Harris a long time. This brilliant prosecutor will make the case against convicted felon Donald Trump and the Project 2025 agenda to take away our freedoms," Clinton wrote on Facebook.
The conservative policy platform Project 2025 has become a key Democratic talking point, although Trump has actually disavowed it.
At a rally in Michigan last weekend, Trump distanced himself from the "radical right" policy platform, doubling down on his embrace of more moderate positions on social issues like abortion.
Most prominent Democrats have already lined up behind Harris, with the conspicuous exception of Barack Obama.
There are question marks hanging over her candidacy: Harris' first presidential campaign fizzled in 2019, and the California politician's liberal record could prove a weakness in crucial Midwestern states that Clinton lost in 2016.
While Democrats highlight Harris' background in law enforcement, Trump's team is sure to scrutinize her record to paint her as a soft-on-crime radical outside the mainstream of American politics.
Of course, Harris can rely on the media to provide fawning coverage of her campaign, but glowing media wasn't enough to elect Clinton eight years ago.
With Biden out, many Democrats are feeling a burst of hope - to quote Harris, "unburdened by what has been" - but others might see troubling echoes of the past.
Like Harris, Clinton received a coronation from the Democratic machine - only to be rejected by the American people in the general election.
Harris may not be the ideal candidate for defeating Trump, but with well-connected party veterans like Clinton behind her, her path to the nomination seems secure.
