Harris: I See Joe Biden With Cameras Off And On, He's a Leader Who Fights for the American People

US Vice President Kamala Harris with President Joe Biden at the White House. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - Vice President Kamala Harris praised President Joe Biden when the boss announced his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential election, supporting his vice president to run in the political contest to be held next November.

"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 praised in a post on social media X, as quoted on July 22.

"I am honored to have the President's support and my intention is to seek and win this nomination," she continued.

President Biden is facing a difficult situation, after his less than convincing performance in the US presidential debate with his Republican opponent, Donald Trump in Atlanta on June 27.

President Biden, who at 81 is the oldest person ever to occupy the Oval Office, said he would remain as president until his term ends on January 20, 2025, and will address the nation this week.

Biden himself tested positive for COVID-19 last week and is self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

"While I intend to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and my country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," President Biden wrote in X, as reported by Reuters.

As Vice President, I see @JoeBiden when the cameras are on and when the cameras are off—in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room, and on the campaign trail.

Joe Biden is a leader who fights for the American people. pic.twitter.com/w2OIN6oGpU

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 20, 2024

Meanwhile, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Americans will soon hear from the party about next steps and a path forward for the nomination process.

It is the first time in more than half a century that a sitting U.S. president has withdrawn from his party’s nomination.

“As Vice President, I watched President Biden when the cameras were on and when the cameras were off — in the Oval Office, in the Situation Room and on the campaign trail,” Harris wrote in X on Sunday.

“Joe Biden is a leader who fights for the American people,” she praised.

Opposition to Biden’s continued campaign from within his party has grown over the past week, with 36 Democratic members of Congress — more than one in eight — publicly calling for Biden to resign, driven by concerns about his mental acuity.

Lawmakers say they fear he will cost them not only the White House but also their chance to control one chamber of Congress next year, leaving Democrats with no meaningful grip on power in Washington.

That was a stark contrast to what happened in Milwaukee last week, when Republican convention delegates rallied around Trump, whose refusal to acknowledge his 2020 defeat to Biden sparked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

President Biden changed his mind at the last minute, a source familiar with the matter said. The president told allies Saturday night he planned to stay in the race before changing his mind Sunday afternoon.

"About 1:45 p.m. today: the president told his senior team that he had changed his mind," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Biden announced his decision on social media minutes later.