Raleigh educator Eric Fitts turned Cook Out milkshakes with Biden into DNC speaking role

Student loan forgiveness managed to thrust Wake County Schools’ Eric Fitts into the national spotlight and into President Joe Biden’s orbit.

In January, Fitts, Biden and Fitts’ children, Christian and Carter, shared a meal from Cook Out in Raleigh.

Six months later, Fitts took the stage at a rally to give a full-throated endorsement of the president after Biden performed terribly at a debate against former President Donald Trump.

And on Thursday night, with the nation’s eyes watching, Fitts was scheduled to take the stage once again, this time in front of 50,000 Democrats at United Center in Chicago to support the Democratic Party at its national convention.

He sons were expected to join him.

Who is Eric Fitts?

Fitts is the senior executive school leadership coach at Wake County Public School System.

He’s worked for the school system since 2007, and became principal of Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering in 2015. It was there that Fitts was named the school system’s Principal of the Year.

Under his leadership, Brentwood saw its math scores increase by 17.8% and reading scores by 8.4%, according to a news release from Wake County schools as it named Fitts Principal of the Year. The Magnet Schools of America gave Brentwood its highest designation of a Magnet School of Excellence.

Fitts has long advocated for affordable access to education, and a year ago, Fitts received student loan forgiveness that allowed him to start investing in his sons’ educations.

How did they meet?

Before Harris became the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, Biden was the presumed nominee.

And as he crisscrossed the country campaigning, he started doing kitchen-table tours to meet with Americans in their homes.

Fitts and his sons were among those.

In January, Biden was spotted going to Cook Out on Falls of Neuse Road with Gov. Roy Cooper. A trip to Cook Out while in North Carolina isn’t unusual for the president, but what he did next is.

He brought the food up the street to the Fitts home.

Christian took a video of Biden’s visit and posted it to TikTok, which then went viral.

The video of Biden at their home showed the president looking at photos and awards on their refrigerator and sitting down to eat chicken, fries and milkshakes. A video posted by Biden’s campaign showed the president eating a hamburger and asking Christian and Carter about their passion for basketball and about their schooling.

But why did he choose the Fitts’ residence? During his first term, Biden made forgiving student loan debt a priority, and while his initial plan to forgive $430 billion was blocked by the Supreme Court, he was still able to get the debts of 4.75 million Americans forgiven by May. Fitts was among those.

Fitts and Biden meet again

Fitts and Biden would see each other again, about six months later.

On June 27, Biden debated Trump on CNN in Atlanta. The country watched as he coughed, his voice grew faint and his answers trailed off throughout the debate.

Concern for both Biden’s mental acuity and his ability to continue in the campaign shook the Democratic Party.

But Biden at first refused to be moved by what happened in the debate.

Instead, he spent his overnight hours traveling to North Carolina, where he would hold his first post-debate rally in Raleigh.

There, on stage, to introduce the president and offer his support, was Fitts.

“Last night, I watched with pride as President Biden won the debate and put forward a clear vision for making life better for our families, and Donald Trump made it very clear he’s focused on retribution and revenge,” Fitts said on stage. “But what amazed me most was that the President Biden we saw last night on the debate stage was the same Joe I had the pleasure of sharing a meal with a few months ago, right in my room with my sons, Christian and Carter, when we sat at my dinner table.”

Fitts then shared what it meant for him and his sons to have his student loans forgiven. He said it allowed him to be a better educator, to save for his son’s colleges and to invest in their futures.

He said what struck him the most about Biden was that he listened and made him and his sons feel seen, heard and valued.

Democratic National Convention

A lot has changed since Fitts took the stage on Biden’s behalf.

Trump was shot in an attempted assassination.

He selected Sen. JD Vance, of Ohio, as his running mate.

The pressure for Biden to drop out of the race became insurmountable, and he did.

He immediately endorsed Harris to take over his campaign.

And the Democratic Party united behind her.

On Tuesday night, the Democrats held a ceremonial roll call vote at the Democratic National Convention to make her the party’s presidential nominee, along with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Many notable names have taken the convention stage in Chicago to throw their support behind her, including Biden, former President Barack Obama, First Lady Jill Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

It’s unclear what Fitts, Christian and Carter planned to say Thursday night, the last night of the convention and the night that Harris formally accepts the nomination. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fitts and his children were to take the stage around 9 p.m.

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