The Obamas Called Kamala Harris. Cameras Rolled. Hokeyness Ensued.

Kamala Harris’s dizzying rollout as a presidential candidate somehow pulled off the rare feat of looking organic and organized, fun but without cringe-inducing artifice. Vibes shifted, memes spread, coconuts fell.

Things were bound to get hokey.

Somehow, the Biden-turned-Harris campaign managed to make former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, once America’s coolest political couple, sound like parents in a Lifetime movie calling their child at summer camp.

Early Friday morning, the Harris campaign posted a video it produced that depicted a phone call from Mr. and Mrs. Obama, which had taken place on Wednesday, in which they gave Ms. Harris their much-awaited endorsement. Mr. Obama’s 5:01 a.m. post of the video on X had more than 50 million views by 2 p.m.

The historical weight of the moment — the first Black president offering his support to a daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants who is suddenly making her own run at history — may have been somewhat undercut by the stage management. The video begins as an offscreen aide hands Ms. Harris a phone, while she is walking backstage at an event in Indianapolis.

(“Kamala Gets A Call” is a go-to move for the vice president: When she and President Biden clinched their victory in 2020, their campaign released a video of her standing outside, on the phone with Mr. Biden, saying, “We did it, Joe.”)

Mr. Obama’s voice is the first thing heard.

“Kamala?” He sounds excited, with maybe a touch of confusion.