Kamala Harris Says She Didn’t Ask Biden for an Endorsement but ‘It Was Clear He Was Going to Support Me’

August 29, 2024 @ 7:12 PM

Kamala Harris recounted her phone call with President Joe Biden after deciding to withdraw from the race in a CNN interview, saying “It was clear he was going to support me,” in the 2024 presidential race. 

In her first interview since accepting the Democratic nomination, the vice president praised Biden’s policy record and personal character, saying that he “cares so deeply,” and is “loyal” to the American people. “He has the intelligence, the commitment and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,” she added. 

“By contrast, the former president has none of that,” Harris said of her opponent. 

CNN’s Dana Bash then asked about the phone call between Biden and Harris when he officially decided he would be withdrawing his candidacy. The vice president said her extended family was staying with her and the President called her after breakfast. 

Harris added that she asked him if he was sure of his decision, to which he said yes. Bash then pressed further about the call, asking if Harris had asked Biden personally for his endorsement. 

“It was clear he was going to support me,” the vice president replied, adding that her “first thought was about him.”

Harris then continued her praise of Biden’s term in office, saying that “history is going to show that in so many ways it was transformative.” 

“Not only has Joe Biden led an administration that has achieved those extraordinary successes, but the character of the man is one that he has been, in his life and career, including as a president, quite selfless and puts the American people first,” she said.