Former Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed Joe Biden on Thursday, calling him “the president our country desperately needs right now.” In a statement, Kerry wrote, “I’ve never before seen the world more in need of someone who on Day 1 can begin the incredibly hard work of putting back together the world Donald Trump has smashed apart.” Kerry will join Biden in Iowa on Friday as part of his eight-day “No Malarkey” bus tour aimed at winning over the leadoff caucus state where recent surveys have put him fourth in place. Kerry, a Democrat, had a similar reputation as Biden as a centrist figure during his 2004 presidential bid, and his endorsement is significant to a campaign in need of momentum, particularly among the country’s rural voters. 

Kerry told The Washington Post, “I believe very deeply that Joe Biden’s character, his ability to persevere, his decency and the experiences that he brings to the table are critical to the moment,” adding that President Trump “knows” that Biden could beat him. In a Twitter ad on Wednesday night, which garnered more than 5 million views, Biden called Trump “insincere, ill-informed, corrupt, dangerously incompetent and incapable, in my view, of world leadership.”