‘Embrace Kamala Harris’: Joe Biden speaks out after announcing he will not stand in presidential race
22 July 2024, 23:03 | Updated: 23 July 2024, 00:04
Joe Biden has urged campaign staff to get behind Kamala Harris as he spoke out for the first time since announcing he would not stand in the presidential election.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Mr Biden, who is still recovering from Covid, surprised campaign staff by calling in to an event in Delaware and urged them to “embrace” Ms Harris.
The President said he would be “working like hell” to support Ms Harris' campaign, as he warned: “Trump is still a danger.”
“I know yesterday's news was surprising and hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” the President, 81, added.
Ms Harris then took to the stage following a brief introduction by her husband, Doug Emhoff, as she vowed to "win the election".
“It is my intention to earn this nomination and to win,” Ms Harris told campaign staff, while Mr Biden remained on the call.
The call was intended to represent a show of unity, as Mr Biden and Ms Harris said that they loved each other in front of a jubilant crowd.
Ms Harris, who is not yet the official Democrat candidate, already started to draw her dividing lines with Mr Trump.
In her speech to Democrats in Delaware on Monday evening, Ms Harris highlighted her past as a prosecutor, while labelling the former US President a sexual predator and a fraudster.
Ms Harris also pledged an "assault weapons ban" and said she would fight for "reproductive freedom".
“I will proudly put my record against his,” she vowed.
The Vice President has racked up endorsements from a number of senior Democrats, most recently the former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
One notable Democrat who is yet to endorse her, however, is Barack Obama.
Nonetheless, it is understood Ms Harris is hoping to secure the official nomination to run for President by Wednesday.
This has been helped by the fact that a number of Democrats who were considered leadership hopefuls have backed Ms Harris, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer.
Her campaign has already been boosted by $81m in donations, which had dried up as Mr Biden clung on to his candidacy.
Earlier today, Ms Harris said that Mr Biden's "legacy of accomplishment over the last three years in unmatched in modern history."
She added: "In one term he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms."
It emerged today that Ms Harris is reportedly considering picking a white man to boost her electoral chances should she officially secure the nomination.
This leaves the door open for the likes of Newsom, as well as the Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro and Pete Buttigieg, the Transport Secretary.
Jo Phillips shuts down questions of Kamala Harris' possible candidacy being because she 'ticks the right Democrat boxes'
The US president, 81, confirmed he will no longer be seeking a second term in the White House on Sunday evening, a move that flips the 2024 presidential race on its head.
Moments after announcing he was stepping down from the White House race on social media, the president took to X once again to endorse his Vice President, Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
It took little time for Republican nominee Donald Trump to hit back, labelling Biden 'unfit' to run.
Taking to his social media platform Truth Social days after the attempt on his life, Trump declared: "Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was!"
He added: "We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
