Watch: Biden reflects on Harris as governing partner and her historic run to succeed him
“She believes, as I do, everyone deserves a fighting chance,” said President Joe Biden about his vice president, Kamala Harris, and her historic run to become the 47th president of the United States of America.
In an exclusive interview with theGrio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Biden said he has “great confidence” in his governing partner as she embarks on her quest to the White House with four weeks to go before voters cast their ballots on Nov. 5.
Reflecting on the past nearly four years, the president stressed, “We spend a lot of time together,” inferring that he knows Harris well and that the American public should trust his word about the Democratic presidential nominee who replaced him at the top of the ticket after he shockingly decided not to seek reelection.
By making that fateful decision on July 21, Biden chose what he and others saw as saving America’s democracy from former President Donald Trump over political ambition.
“He’s a different breed of cat,“ Biden told theGrio. The president went as far as to call out Trump’s “prejudice” against women and Black Americans. He emphasized, “The way he diminishes and demeans their background is sad. It’s sick.”
Biden feels a kindred spirit with Harris who’s trying to convince voters she is a candidate for change. Biden said he and Harris are “one and the same.” However, he sees Harris as representing a new generation of thought, gender, and race to possibly lead the country for the next four years.
For Biden, the bottom line is, “Everyone just deserves a fighting chance, a leveled playing field.” He maintained, “If you do that, you change the nation … [and] the world.”
Reflecting on the importance of representation, Biden said, “It matters that your son or daughter looks and says, ‘Hey Mom, look at that president. She’s Black.’” He added, “It’s a big deal.”
The president likened Harris’s potential rise to the White House to him being only the second Catholic to be elected president. If Harris wins in November, she will be the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian to be president in U.S. history.