Harris makes first public appearance since Biden dropout, joins Black leaders in praising his legacy

TheGrio was on the ground as Vice President Kamala Harris received a warm welcome at the White House on Monday in her first public appearance since announcing her candidacy for president.

It was a rare moment on the South Lawn for Harris, as she alone welcomed thousands of NCAA athletes without President Joe Biden by her side. The president, who dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday, remained in Delaware as he recovered from COVID-19. 

Harris did not mention her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination; however, she delivered glowing praise for her boss and potential predecessor. 

“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” said Harris. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.” 

Harris appeared to clear the Democratic presidential field on Monday as she racked up a major endorsement from former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Harris was also endorsed by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Top Democratic governors who were expected to throw their names in the race also endorsed Harris, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Senator Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., told theGrio that as the “backbone of the Democratic Party,” Black women are “activated and excited” about the potential nomination of Harris at the Democratic National Convention in August.

“I think every one of us sees it as the opportunity of a lifetime. The opportunity to truly lift America to its next level of greatness,” said Butler, a close ally of Harris and only the third Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. 

“It is going to take Black women and suburban white women and Latinos and Asians and men of all stripes to achieve that objective … And I think we are ready to lock arms and to choose to do it together.”

But instead of focusing on using her first public remarks on Monday to boost her candidacy at the White House, Harris exalted President Biden for “his honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart and his … deep love of our country.”

She added, “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.”

In an interview with theGrio, longtime Biden confidant U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., praised President Biden as having “the most consequential record for Black people since [President] Lyndon Baines Johnson.”

Congressman Clyburn noted Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure law, which is repairing roads and bridges in Black communities across the country, as well as his record of lowering health costs. 

“Come January, there won’t be a single person on Medicare that will pay more than $2,000 a year for their pharmaceuticals,” he said. Clyburn also said millions more Black Americans now have health insurance through President Biden’s efforts to expand the Affordable Care Act.

Michael Blake, a former Obama White House aide, noted that as someone who did outreach to Black constituents, Biden proved that “if you’re focused on equity, accomplishments at scale overwhelmingly help Black folk.”

“When you cap insulin, it helps Black folk. When you put more Black people — and Black women in particular — on the federal bench, it helps Black folk. When you focus on student loan forgiveness, it helps Black folk,” said Blake, who is the founder and CEO of the Kairos Democracy Project. 

He added, “Joe Biden made it very clear that while he is not a Black man, he cared about Black people … we owe him gratitude for his service to the country.”

Senator Butler said that by choosing to relinquish his pursuit of reelection and endorse Harris as the party’s nominee, President Biden “showed us yet another example of what true leadership is: someone who puts the country and other people ahead of their own personal ambitions or ego.”

“This is a man who has dedicated his entire professional career, since he was 29 years old, to serving people,” she told theGrio. “His record as president, I think, will go down in history as one of the most generation-changing presidents.”

Butler added, “We’ve got to see this moment for President Biden as a moment of both gratitude and incredible admiration as well as aspiration. We all should aspire to be that type of leader.”

Activist Melanie L. Campbell, who led a letter signed by thousands of Black women urging Democrats not to push Biden off the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket, told theGrio she found it “heartbreaking that he was pushed to this decision.” However, she added, “I’m sure he made the decision that was best for him and his family.”

“It’s the most selfless thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Campbell, chair of the Power of the Ballot Action Fund. She said as the current president and still the “de facto” leader of the party, Biden still has a role to play in “helping to make sure that he helps this ticket get across the finish line.”

Blake, a former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Biden’s legacy is now forever tied to Harris and her historic campaign for president, which has raised $81 million in less than 24 hours.

“The country, and, overwhelmingly, Democrats are rallying behind a Black woman, who will be our nominee in a month in Chicago because Joe Biden made that decision,” he maintained. 

“The first Black president [Barack Obama] decided this is the man to be my vice president. [Biden] then decided to pick a Black woman to be his vice president,” Blake noted. “I feel very confident that when we get to November, we will have our first Black woman and first woman president. And the legacy of that through line is connected to Joe Biden.”

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