Wilmington, Delaware:

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, building Democratic backing for her sudden presidential run, rallied supporters on Monday with a debut campaign speech vowing to go after Republican nominee Donald Trump like the courtroom prosecutor she once was.

“I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain,” Harris told campaign workers 28 hours after President Joe Biden, 81, abandoned the 2024 White House race and endorsed her.

“So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type. In this campaign, I will proudly, I will proudly put my record against his,” said Harris, who was attorney general of California and a U.S. senator before serving as Biden’s vice president.

The Trump campaign responded to Harris’ comments. “Kamala Harris is just as incompetent as Joe Biden and even more liberal,” said Karoline Leavitt, the campaign’s national press secretary. “Not only does Kamala need to defend her support of Joe Biden’s failed agenda over the past four years, she also needs to answer for her own terrible weak-on-crime record in California.”

Trump is due to be sentenced in September after having been found guilty of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star. He also faces criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory. He falsely claims he lost in 2020 because of election fraud.

Biden, who pulled out of the race on Sunday amid questions about his age and health, called into Harris’ campaign event. Recovering from COVID-19 at his home in Delaware, he sounded hoarse but appreciative of his vice president.

Biden said he thought he had made the right decision by dropping out. Biden, the oldest person ever to occupy the Oval Office, said on Sunday he would remain in the presidency until his term ends on Jan. 20, 2025.

Harris, 59, outlined a series of policies she promised to pursue including signing laws to protect abortion rights and ban assault rifles and said she would make rebuilding the middle class the focus of her presidency.

Within minutes of receiving Biden’s backing on Sunday, Harris began consolidating Democratic support for her presidential bid, securing commitments from hundreds of convention delegates, announcing a massive fundraising haul and earning endorsements from top party figures.

These included former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has remained influential since stepping down as the party’s House of Representatives leader in 2022. The AFL-CIO labour union federation, which represents 12.5 million workers, said on Monday it had also endorsed Harris for president.

The Harris campaign aims to secure commitments from a majority of the nearly 4,000 Democratic delegates to next month’s Democratic Party convention by Wednesday evening, sources told Reuters, effectively wrapping up the nomination.

Campaign officials and allies have made hundreds of calls urging delegates to nominate Harris for president in the Nov. 5 election.

Harris’ campaign said it raised $81 million in the 24 hours following Biden’s exit, the most for a single day in the 2024 campaign for either party.

Virtually all of the prominent Democrats who had been seen as potential challengers to Harris have declared support for her, including Governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California and Andy Beshear of Kentucky. Whitmer, in a post on X, on Monday said she would serve as co-chair of Harris’ campaign.

Biden’s departure was the latest shock to a White House race that included his disastrous June 27 debate performance against former President Trump and the July 13 near-assassination of Trump by a gunman during a campaign stop.

Harris lauded Biden for his service to the country. At a White House event to honour college athletes earlier on Monday, she said: “Joe Biden’s legacy over the last three years is unmatched in modern history.”

Harris will travel on Tuesday to Milwaukee, the largest city in the battleground state of Wisconsin, which last week hosted a Republican National Convention that offered a stark display of Trump’s dominance over his party.

NEW GENERATION

Harris, who is Black and Asian American, would fashion an entirely new dynamic with Trump, 78, offering a vivid generational and cultural contrast.

The Trump campaign has been preparing for her possible rise for weeks, sources told Reuters. It sent out a detailed critique of her record on immigration and other issues on Monday, accusing her of being more liberal than Biden.

It alleged that Harris favoured abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and decriminalizing border crossings, backed the so-called Green New Deal, supported the administration’s electric vehicle mandates and encouraged “defund the police” efforts.

Some of those were positions Harris adopted as an unsuccessful presidential candidate in the 2020 election when she was running on a more liberal agenda than Biden but were not ones that the administration assumed, particularly with regard to border security and law enforcement issues.

Eric Holder, who was U.S. attorney general in the administration of President Barack Obama, and his law firm Covington & Burling LLP will conduct the vetting of Harris’ potential running mates, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Trump, whose false claims that his 2020 loss to Biden was the result of fraud inspired the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, on Monday, questioned Democrats’ right to change candidates.

“They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

At a rally for Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, on Monday, Ohio state Senator George Lang called for civil war to save the country if Trump didn’t win the November election. Lang later said on X that he regretted the remarks. “We should all be mindful of what is said at political events, myself included,” he wrote.

Harris is expected to stick largely to Biden’s foreign policy playbook on such issues as China, Iran and Ukraine, but could strike a tougher tone with Israel over the Gaza war if she wins the November election.

Some Democrats were concerned about the country’s long history of racial and gender discrimination. The U.S. has not elected a woman president in its nearly 250-year history.

Most public opinion polls conducted before Biden dropped out did not find that Harris performed better statistically against Trump than Biden had.

Biden has not been seen in public since testing positive for COVID on Wednesday. He tentatively plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday if he has recovered.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday ended his reelection campaign. He said in a letter posted on social media platform X that he would remain in office until the end of his term and address the country later this week on his decision.

Below are reactions from politicians, industry and advocacy groups and other observers.

Vice President Kamala Harris

“I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

Former President Donald Trump

In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race, former President Trump responded, “He is the worst president in the history of our country. He goes down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.” Trump also said he thought Vice President Kamala Harris will be easier to defeat than Biden would have been, according to CNN.

Former President Barack Obama

“I also know Joe has never backed down from a fight. For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America,” the former president said in a statement. “I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader

“Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he is a truly amazing human being. His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first. Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American,” the Democrat said in a statement.

Elise Stefanik, House Republican Conference Chairwoman

“If Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is unable and unfit to serve as President of the United States. He must immediately resign,” Stefanik said in a statement.

Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I commend President Biden for stepping down. His infirmities were evident to any unbiased observer from the beginning. It was this progressive deterioration – and his abandonment of Democratic Party principles – that prompted me to enter the race and ensure American voters had a viable, vigorous alternative to Donald Trump,” Kennedy said in a post on X.

Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Leader

“America is a better place today because President Joe Biden has led us with intellect, grace and dignity. We are forever grateful,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Steve Scalise, House Majority Leader

“Democrat party bosses just proved that they have absolutely no respect for their own voters. After lecturing others about democracy, they just forced Joe Biden off the ticket-trashing the primary choice of 14 million of their own voters,” Scalise, a Republican, said on X. 

Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee

“Americans and democracy-loving people world owe Joe Biden a debt of gratitude. The Congressional Black Caucus PAC joins President Biden in fully supporting Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee,” the organization said in a statement posted to X.

Nancy Pelosi, Former House Speaker

“President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history. With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment. God blessed America with Joe Biden’s greatness and goodness.”

Gavin Newsom, Governor Of California

“President Biden has been an extraordinary, history-making president – a leader who has fought hard for working people and delivered astonishing results for all Americans. He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents,” Newsom posted on X.

Nanette Barragan, Chair Of The Congressional Hispanic Caucus

“I am with you @JoeBiden – I endorse @KamalaHarris as our Democratic nominee & will work tirelessly to make sure she is elected our next President in November,” Barragán said in a post on X.

South Carolina Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn

“I echo the good judgment [President Biden] demonstrated in selecting Vice President Harris to lead this nation alongside him, and I am proud to follow his lead in support of her candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee for president,” Clyburn said in a statement

Andy Beshear, Governor Of Kentucky

Beshear, whose name has also been floated as a possible contender as president or vice president, praised Biden for acting “in the best interest of our country, and our party” and “for a successful presidency that got big, important things done.”

“Now it is time for our nation to come together,” he added in his post on X.

Peter Welch, US Senator

Welch, the first Democratic Senator to call on Joe Biden to drop his reelection run, on Sunday praised the president for ending his quest, saying he showed “good judgment and great humility” and “put the country first.”

“It was an agonizing decision,” Welch said in an interview with Reuters. “Every fiber of his being wanted to continue to fight and to beat Trump again.”

Welch declined to endorse Harris, who he acknowledged was the frontrunner to replace Biden.

The Democrats should have “an open process so that whoever our nominee is, including Kamala, has the strength of having a process that shows the consensus position of the party,” he said.

Barbara Lee, US Representative

Lee, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a phone interview there is “no other option” but to choose Harris as the party’s nominee.

“She is the best vice president,” Lee said. “She is experienced, capable and smart. She has been a part of the Biden-Harris legacy that needs to continue.”

Gretchen Whitmer, Governor Of Michigan

“President Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it takes to defeat Donald Trump. His remarkable work to lower prescription drug costs, fix the damn roads, bring supply chains home, address climate change, and ensure America’s global leadership over decades will go down in history. My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan,” Whitmer said on X.

United Auto Workers

“Vice President Kamala Harris walked the picket line with us in 2019, and along with President Biden has brought work and jobs back to communities like Lordstown, Ohio, and Belvidere, Illinois. That’s the legacy President Biden leaves and that’s the work we will continue to build on as a union,” the union said in a statement.

Dick Durbin, Senator And Majority Whip

“Throughout his public career, Joe Biden always put country first. His four years as President made it clear that he was determined to put our country back on track and restore the soul of our nation. America will be forever grateful for all he has given to this country,” Durbin posted on X. 

The Clintons

“We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” the Clintons said in a statement.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New York:

Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump crowed, “the Corrupt and Radical Democrats are throwing him overboard” after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race for the White House.

“He was annihilated in an Earth Shattering Debate,” Trump posted on Saturday on Truth Social, the X-like social media platform he uses, mangling the capitalisation of his text.

After the June 27 debate in which his performance raised questions about cognitive abilities and his capacity to match Trump’s campaign vitality, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party candidate.

Trump piled on personal insults and questions about Biden’s performance in the post, “Crooked Joe Biden is the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation.”

“He has done everything possible to destroy our Country, from our Southern Border, to Energy Dominance, National Security, International Standing, and so much more,” Trump said repeating his constant refrain.

Trump alleged that “the people around him lied to America about his Complete and Total Mental, Physical, and Cognitive Demise” to prop up Biden.

Trump did not mention Harris, but said, “Whoever the Left puts up now will just be more of the same.”

On Saturday at a campaign rally, Trump ridiculed Harris.

He said, “Kamaala, I call her laughing Kamaala. Have you seen her laughing? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She is nuts. She is not as crazy as (former Speaker) Nancy Pelosi.”

CNN reported that Trump said that she (Harris) will be easier to defeat than Biden.

Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. fired the opening salvo on his father’s behalf, “Kamala Harris owns the entire Left-wing policy record of Joe Biden. The only difference is that she is even more liberal and less competent than Joe, which is really saying something.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)