In first public remarks, Kamala Harris praises Joe Biden, doesn’t talk presidential campaign
In her first public remarks since Joe Biden bowed out of the presidential contest and passed the torch to her, Vice President Kamala Harris thanked her boss and swiftly was back on White House schedule.
Harris, 59, was subbing in for Biden at an event celebrating collegiate athletic champions. Biden has COVID-19 and is isolating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The remarks, given on the White House South Lawn, lasted about six minutes. Harris made no mention of her own 2024 campaign, which launched yesterday.
Toward the beginning of her remarks, she echoed her statement from yesterday thanking Biden for his service and explaining her connection to his late son, Beau. Beau, who died in 2015, overlapped as a state attorney general for Delaware when Harris was for California.
“I wanted to just say a few words about our president. Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” she started.
“The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president: His honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart and his love, deep love, for our country.”
Here are her full remarks:
Thank you. Greetings, everyone. Greetings.
And, Lynda, I want to thank you for all you do to support these extraordinary student athletes. And it is good to be here with so many leaders, including, of course, members of Congress, members of our administration, and our extraordinary athletes.
Our president, Joe Biden, wanted to be here today. He is feeling much better and recovering fast, and he looks forward to getting back on the road. And I wanted to say a few words about our president. Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history. In one term, he has already — yes, you may clap. In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.
And I first came to know President Biden through his son, Beau. We worked together as attorneys general in our states. And back then, Beau would often tell me stories about his dad. He would talk about the kind of father and the kind of man that Joe Biden is. The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president: His honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart, and his love, deep love, of our country.
And I am firsthand witness that every day our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American people. And we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.
And so, with that, on behalf of our president and Dr. Biden, I am honored to welcome all of you to the White House to celebrate the achievements of these great athletes. Every one of them is a national champion: a national champion.
In America, tens of millions of people play a sport as a child, and the best of the best grow up to become national champions.
Here today, we have seven undefeated teams, 11 repeat champions and 20 first-time winners.
Some of you have represented our nation on the international stage, in world cups and world championships. And, later this month, six of you will represent our nation at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
As members of Team USA, you are ambassadors for our nation. And with pride, we will cheer you on. And we look forward to congratulating you when you bring home the gold.
So, to all our athletes, I know it was not easy to make it to this moment. Each of you has faced challenges and obstacles, and you have endured. You have fought back and fought through.
By doing so, you demonstrated that true greatness requires more than skill. It requires grit and determination. You all know what it means to commit and to persevere. And you know what it means to count on teammates.
During the course of a long season, sports teams become a family. You rely on each other. You develop relationships that will last a lifetime. And you make the people around you better in every way. And when you play, you inspire people across our nation. You remind all of us what can be achieved with hard work and ambition.
And, of course, none of you made it here alone. Today, you are surrounded by the people who stood by you every step of this journey, the folks who support you on and off the field: your friends, your family members, your coaches, your trainers and teachers, who for years have cheered you on. So, today, again, let us give them a round of applause.
And in conclusion, I say to our athletes: Congratulations, again, on all you have accomplished, and good luck on all that is to come. Wherever you all go from here, you will always — and know this — you always be champions and we will always be so proud of you.
And so, now it is my honor to welcome to the stage Jordynn Dudley, who plays on the Florida State University women’s soccer team and our U-20 Women’s National Team.
Please welcome Jordynn.
This story was originally published July 22, 2024 at 1:54 PM with the headline "In first public remarks, Kamala Harris praises Joe Biden, doesn’t talk presidential campaign."
