Vice President Kamala Harris vowed that she will “earn and win” her nomination by the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden announced his decision to step down from the race. Hours after the president, 81, made the historic decision to withdraw from the election, Harris, 59, released her own statement to social media.
“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,” she tweeted on Sunday, July 21. “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
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.
I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 21, 2024
In a follow-up tweet, Harris wrote that she “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.”
Hours beforehand, Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. In an official statement released on July 21, the president wrote that it “has been the greatest honor of [his] life to serve” the American people.
“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 added. “I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”
Biden’s decision to step down comes weeks after numerous Democrats and countless Americans called on him to step down. During his televised debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump in June, viewers saw Biden stumble on his words. However, the White House defended him and vowed that he would continue to campaign for reelection.
Throughout the remainder of June and July, Biden appeared in multiple televised interviews and press conferences, where he insisted he was not leaving the presidential race. Nevertheless, many news outlets continued to speculate whether or not Harris would be tapped to take his place as the 2024 Democratic nominee.
