US Vice President Kamala Harris has sent an encouraging message to her country’s Olympic hopefuls ahead of this summer’s Games in Paris.
Harris made her first public appearance since entering the presidential race after President Joe Biden (81) abruptly abandoned his re-election campaign and endorsed her as his successor.
The 59-year-old broke her silence on Biden during an event honoring college sports stars. The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2023-24 championship teams were invited to the White House on Monday.
And with six Team USA athletes attending the event, Harris wished them luck before they headed to the French capital.
“As members of Team USA, you are ambassadors for our country and we will be proud to cheer you on,” she said.
Vice President Kamala Harris has sent an encouraging message to the country’s Olympic hopefuls
“And we look forward to congratulating you as you take home the gold.”
The Olympic Games begin later this week in Paris, with the traditional opening ceremony on Friday.
On Monday, it was announced that NBA icon LeBron James will be Team USA’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony, the first time an American basketball player has been given this honor.
Harris moved quickly to secure the Democratic presidential nomination after Biden announced Sunday he was stepping aside, under pressure from his party colleagues.
Nearly all of the prominent Democrats seen as potential challengers to Harris have thrown their support behind her, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Campaign officials and allies have already made hundreds of phone calls on her behalf, urging delegates at next month’s Democratic National Convention to join them in nominating her for president in the Nov. 5 election against Republican Donald Trump.
Harris delivered her first speech since Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race as she honored student athletes at the White House
Biden announced on Sunday that he would step aside after bowing to pressure from his party colleagues.
The Olympic Games begin later this week in Paris, with the traditional opening ceremony on Friday
Biden’s departure was the latest shock in the race for the White House, which had been marked by the near-assassination of former President Trump by a gunman at a campaign rally and the nomination of Trump’s hardline colleague, Senator J.D. Vance, as his running mate.
“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement Sunday. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump.”
Biden, at 81 the oldest person to ever occupy the White House, said he will remain in the presidency until the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2025.
Biden’s shaky performance in the June 27 debate against Trump prompted leading Democrats to urge him to end his candidacy. Leading Republicans, however, demanded that he resign, arguing that if he is unfit to campaign, he is unfit to govern.