In her first remarks since Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed her, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the president’s “unmatched” legacy.
“In a single time period, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who served two phrases in workplace,” Harris mentioned.
Harris reminded the group that she first received to know Biden by means of his late son, Beau, who served as a state lawyer common alongside Harris and sometimes shared tales about his father.
“He would speak concerning the sort of father and the sort of man that Joe Biden is. The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the identical qualities that I’ve seen day-after-day in our president. His honesty, his integrity, his dedication to his religion and his household, his massive coronary heart and his love — deep love — of the nation,” she mentioned.
Harris spoke on the South Garden on Monday for a celebration of NCAA championship groups, filling in for Biden as he recovers from Covid. She used the highest of her remarks to commend the president and his accomplishments, simply 24 hours after his announcement shook up the presidential race.
The White Home occasion marked Harris’ first public look after a whirlwind day within the Democratic Social gathering. Potential challengers have shortly rallied round her, shifting to seal her destiny as an uncontested nominee.
However Harris saved Monday’s remarks targeted on the president, not mentioning her recent marketing campaign for the White Home. A whole lot of faculty athletes and coaches seated on the South Garden applauded as she praised Biden.
“I’m first hand witness that on a regular basis, our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American individuals, and we’re deeply, deeply grateful for his service to the nation,” Harris mentioned.
The vice chairman had a number of conversations with Biden forward of his announcement on Sunday, in accordance with an individual aware of the conversations and granted anonymity to debate the non-public calls. The Biden marketing campaign quickly rebranded within the hours after the president dropped, with the vice chairman elevating greater than $50 million lower than 24 hours after coming into the race.
Harris spent her Sunday surrounded by household and workers within the Vice President’s residence, spending greater than 10 hours inserting calls to over 100 occasion leaders, together with members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, and leaders of advocacy and civil rights teams, in accordance with the particular person acquainted. She made clear in these conversations that she was grateful for Biden’s endorsement, however that she deliberate to work laborious for the Democratic nomination.
The vice chairman plans to move to Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday to fulfill with workers on the marketing campaign headquarters.
“In the future down. 105 to go. Collectively, we’re going to win this,” Harris said in a post on X.
