Vice President Kamala Harris has released her first statement since President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will not be seeking reelection in the this year’s presidential race—throwing his support behind her.

“On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office,” Harris said.

She continued: “It is a profound honor to serve as his Vice President, and I am deeply grateful to the President, Dr. Biden, and the entire Biden family. I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau. We were friends from our days working together as Attorneys General of our home states. As we worked together, Beau would tell me stories about his Dad. The kind of father—and the kind of man—he was. And the qualities Beau revered in his father are the same qualities, the same values, I have seen every single day in Joe’s leadership as President: His honesty and integrity. His big heart and commitment to his faith and his family. And his love of our country and the American people.”

“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else. I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win,” the vice president concluded.

Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ spokesperson via email for comment.

Context

Biden, who faced weeks of mounting pressure from within his own party and from key Democratic donors to step aside for the sake of the party’s future amid a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in late June, announced on Sunday afternoon he will step down from his reelection bid.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement posted to social media.

In a second post, he endorsed Harris to succeed him as the nominee.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats—it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” he wrote, including a photo of him with the vice president.

What We Know

Harris has been viewed as the most likely candidate to replace Biden as the party’s presidential nominee. However, the Democratic National Committee would need to facilitate a swift and organized process to nominate a new candidate as they would need to garner enough delegates to avoid a contested convention and become the nominee before August 7.

Other potential candidates to replace Biden would likely include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

In her Sunday statement, Harris warned against Trump, along with Project 2025, produced by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation that is designed to serve as a policy roadmap for an incoming right-wing government. However, Trump has distanced himself from the project as he declared at Saturday’s rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he is not an “extremist” and criticized the project as an effort from the “severe right” and “seriously extreme.”

Views

Since Biden’s announcement, many members of the Democratic Party have already come out to support his endorsement of Harris.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thanked Biden “for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country.” They then endorsed Harris for president and said they “will do whatever we can to support her.”

Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar thanked Biden for his years of service and then endorsed Harris, writing on X, formerly Twitter, “Thrilled to support @KamalaHarris as our Democratic nominee and remain committed to working alongside her to defeat Donald Trump in November.”

Although Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has not specifically commented on Harris as the potential Democratic nominee since the announcement, he did take aim at Biden on Sunday, saying that “whoever the left puts up now will be just more of the same.”

The former president shared on his Truth Social page: “Crooked Joe Biden is the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation. He has done everything possible to destroy our Country, from our Southern Border, to Energy Dominance, National Security, International Standing, and so much more. He was annihilated in an Earth Shattering Debate, and now the Corrupt and Radical Democrats are throwing him overboard. He was not fit to serve from the very beginning, but the people around him lied to America about his Complete and Total Mental, Physical, and Cognitive Demise. Whoever the Left puts up now will just be more of the same. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

What’s Next?

With Biden stepping down from the race, the Democratic Party must work to secure a new nominee by August 7.

Facing little opposition in the Democratic primaries, Biden already won almost all of his party’s 4,000-plus delegates with his state victories earlier this year. With Biden out, those delegates will have to cast their ballots for a new candidate as Harris is expected to become the next nominee.

In a statement previously emailed to Newsweek, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison said that the party would “undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”

“Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people. Democrats are prepared and united in our resolve to win in November,” Harrison said.

Update 7/21/24, 5:02 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-statement-joe-biden-endorsement-2024-election-1928169