In a shocking turn of events on Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection, less than four months ahead of the 2024 general election. As part of his announcement Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Presidential candidate. Harris is an alumnae of Howard University.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden wrote on X.
Democrats across the country quickly took to social media to offer their support of Harris. Randall Woodfin, the democratic mayor of Birmingham, Alabama and a Morehouse alum, spoke openly on X.
“@JoeBiden’s endorsement of Vice President Harris speaks volumes. Her leadership, resilience, and commitment to progress have been evident throughout his administration. Proud to stand with @KamalaHarris. Let’s get to work!” he wrote.
Campaign says endorsing Kamala Harris is the right thing
In an interview with CNN, Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond said that President Biden did the right thing by endorsing Harris.
“He picked her as his running mate. He got a chance to see how smart, how tough, how good she is,” Richmond said.
Richmond told CNN that he only got a brief heads-up about the decision before it was released to the public.
“Joe Biden, in the history of his career, he’s always put country and history first. This is another example of that,” Richmond continued.
Harris became the first black woman in history to be elected Vice President of the United States during the 2020 election.
The Oakland, California native chose a career in law after graduating from Howard University in 1986 and later the University of California Hastings College of Law. Among her most notable jobs were being elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2004. Then in 2010, she was elected Attorney General of California where she oversaw the largest state justice department in the country.
In 2017, Harris was sworn in as a United States Senator for California, the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history.
“The thing that Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things, and not one thing to the exclusion of the other. You could be homecoming queen and valedictorian. There are no false choices at Howard,” Harris is quoted as saying on the Howard University website.
She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.