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Vice President Kamala Harris gave her first speech after President Joe Biden announced that he would end his campaign for re-election at the White House on Monday, July 22. Harris began her speech by showing support to Biden and praising his accomplishments throughout his four years in office. She mostly focused on celebrating student-athletes, as that was the purpose of the event.
Given that it was her first event since Biden announced that he was bowing out of the election, Harris started by saying that he was feeling “much better” after testing positive for COVID. She said that he wanted to be at the event, but he was still recovering. She then pivoted to speaking about his accomplishments. “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,” she said. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.”
Harris then spoke about getting to know the president by working with his late son Beau. “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 first-hand 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,” she said, via The Guardian.
After speaking about the president, Harris turned to the NCAA athletes who were attending the event, honoring student-athletes. With six attendees going to the Olympics, Harris showed support for them ahead of the games 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,” she said.
The speech comes one day after Biden announced that he would withdraw from the election, and he endorsed his VP. “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in her acceptance.
