Biden says Harris will be ‘historic president’ as he passes baton; she says ‘forever grateful’

US President Joe Biden formally passed the baton of his Democratic Party to his deputy Kamala Harris on Tuesday (August 20), saying she will be a “historic president” and describing her as the best person to save democracy.

Biden, 81, received an emotional standing ovation when he came on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday night (US time).

Harris, 59, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination on Thursday to take on Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the November 5 election.

Harris will be “historic president”: Biden

“Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris as the President of the United States of America?” Biden said, amid cheers from thousands of members and leaders of the Democratic Party at its national convention in Chicago as he urged his countrymen to vote and elect his deputy of four years.

Biden said Harris would be a “historic president”.

“I love my job. I love my country more. We need to preserve our democracy. We need you to beat Donald Trump and elect Kamala and Tim as President and Vice President of the United States,” Biden said.

He said Trump is going to find out the power of women in 2024.

We must save democracy again: Biden

Harris will soon serve as the 47th President of the United States, Biden said, amid cheers from his party members and leaders.

“We saved democracy in 2020 and we must do it again in 2024,” he said urging his countrymen that America’s future is in their hands. “America, America, I gave my best to you. I made a lot of mistakes in my career. But I gave my best to you,” he said.

“Let me ask you: Are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? And let me ask you: Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz as president and vice-president?” he asked.

Forever grateful to you: Harris to Biden

Vice-President Kamala Harris, making a surprise appearance on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, thanked Biden for his “historic leadership and lifetime of service to [the] nation”. “We are forever grateful to you,” she said.

“I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden. Joe, thank you for your historic leadership and lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do, we are forever grateful to you,” Harris said.

“Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here united by our shared vision for the future of our country,” Harris said amid cheers from thousands of Democratic Party members gathered from across the country for the convention.

“This November we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, we are moving forward with optimism, hope and faith guided by our love for the country knowing we have so much more in common than what separates us,” she said.

Emotional Biden

Biden appeared to wipe away a tear as he hugged his daughter Ashley Biden who introduced him at the four-day convention.

Observing that the decisions that were being made now would determine the fate of the world and the country, Biden said he and Harris had four years of extraordinary progress in the United States.

Making a strong pitch to elect Harris as the net president of the United States, Biden said Donald Trump promised infrastructure week every week for four years. He never built a damn thing, he alleged.

Trump is the loser: Biden

“Together, we are building a better America,” he said as he listed out some of the key achievements of the Biden-Harris Administration.

“You cannot say you love your country only when you win,” he said.

“More Americans have health insurance today than ever before. And after fighting for 50 years to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, we finally beat Big Pharma. Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote,” he said.

“He (Trump) is the loser,” Biden said, attacking Trump.

“America is winning. America is prosperous. America is safer today than was under Donald Trump,” he said as he accused Trump of killing the strongest border security bill in the history of the country.

More support to Harris

Biden withdrew from the race for the White House last month and backed Harris for the post. She soon received endorsements from former president Barack Obama and gathered sufficient delegate votes to be finalised as the party’s presidential nominee.

Harris has now become the first-ever woman of colour and also the first-ever Indian-American to be on the top of a presidential ticket of a major American political party.

Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton on Monday said Harris has the character, experience and vision to lead the United States forward.

“Kamala has the character, experience, and vision to lead us forward,” the 76-year-old, who unsuccessfully contested against Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, said at the Democratic National Convention.

Workers’ unions have Harris’s back

In a show of extraordinary solidarity, leaders of the top workers union of the US have also backed Harris for the presidency by highlighting the support their groups have enjoyed during the Biden-Harris administration.

Union leaders from across the nation took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to share a unified message: “Workers have Vice-President Harris’s back because she’s had theirs”.

The unions included the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Communications Workers of America.

(With agency inputs)