Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) announced her endorsement of Joe Biden’s White House bid Sunday morning, saying that the former vice president “speaks to the best of who we are and challenges us to live up to our ideals.”
“There is no one better prepared than Joe to steer our nation through these turbulent times, and restore truth, honor, and decency to the Oval Office. He is kind and endlessly caring, and he truly listens to the American people,” Harris said in a statement.
“You can see in his eyes how he takes to heart the experiences of mothers and fathers working to make ends meet and worrying about whether their children can be safe in their classroom, or young people who fight tirelessly to tackle climate change as they ask for a fair shot at the future in front of them. And with a lifetime in public service, Joe has a proven track record of getting things done,” she added.
Harris, who ended her own presidential campaign late last year, also addressed the withdrawal of nearly every female candidate from the race. Only Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) remains as of Sunday after Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar’s (D-Minn.) departures last week.
“This is something we must reckon with and it is something I will have more to say about in the future,” Harris wrote. “But we must rise to unite the party and country behind a candidate who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people and who can ultimately defeat Donald Trump.”
In a video posted to Twitter, Harris expanded on the Biden endorsement, saying, “One of the things we need right now is we need a leader who really does care about the people and who can therefore unify the people, and I believe Joe can do that.”
Harris and Biden clashed during Democratic debates last summer, with the California senator confronting Biden on his opposition to desegregation busing. Biden said he would consider her as a potential running mate after she dropped out of the race in December.
“She is solid. She can be president someday herself. She can be the vice president. She can go on to be a Supreme Court justice. She can be an attorney general. She has enormous capability,” Biden said.
This report was updated at 8:19 a.m.