Kamala Harris delivers a fiery speech to campaign staffers

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at her presidential campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., on Monday.

July 22, 2024 Updated 4:59 PM PT

Vice President Kamala Harris launched her official campaign Monday with a fiery address to supporters in Delaware — her first public address since overnight becoming a candidate for president and the Democrats’ likely nominee.

Before Harris addressed the crowd at the campaign’s Wilmington headquarters, President Biden phoned in to speak to the gathered staff, saying he would have attended in person if he weren’t still recovering from COVID-19. He advised his team: “Embrace her. She’s the best.”

“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” Biden said. “And by the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna be out there on the campaign with her, with Kamala. I’m going to be working like hell — both as a sitting president, getting legislation passed — as well as campaigning.”

The president acknowledged that his decision was “surprising” but it “was the right thing to do.” Some staffers in the audience cried at his speech.

But their tears turned to rousing cheers when Harris took the stage. Her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, followed Harris through the room as she greeted staff and clapped. Already, the walls were papered with “Harris for President,” “Restore Roe” and “Kamala” posters. A giant California state flag hung over the desks.

Harris applauded the assembled group, and acknowledged that the campaign had been “a roller coaster and we’re all filled with so many mixed emotions about this.” She spent several minutes praising Biden, ticking off his accomplishments leading the country through the COVID-19 pandemic and passing major bipartisan legislation.

“Joe’s legacy of accomplishment … is unmatched in modern history,” she said. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who served two terms in office.”

She thanked the president, who was still listening on the phone.

“Joe, I know you’re still on the call and we’ve been talking every day,” Harris said. “We love Joe and Jill. We really do. They truly are like family to us.”

“It’s mutual,” Biden could be heard saying over the loudspeaker.

“I knew you were still there,” Harris said, laughing. “You’re not going anywhere, Joe.”

“I’m watching you kid. I love you,” Biden replied.

“I love you, Joe,” Harris said.

Turning to business, Harris announced that Biden’s top campaign officials — Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez — will stay on to run her campaign.

The speech gave the public a first peek at how Harris will present as a presidential candidate in a breathtakingly fast four-month runway to the general election. It marked a shift from Harris’ usual address on the campaign trail stumping for Biden in the last several months. Her tone grew sharper as she outlined her attack on former President Trump and drew specific parallels between herself and her opponent.

She leaned hard into her background as California’s senator, its attorney general and a prosecutor, contrasting her experience with that of Trump, who is now a convicted felon.

“I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” Harris said as her supporters broke out into laughter. “Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say — I know Donald Trump’s type.”

“We are not going back,” she added, as the crowd broke into applause.

The Trump campaign zeroed in on Harris on Monday, attacking her for a “border invasion” in a memo to supporters.

“Kamala Harris is as bad, if not worse, than Joe Biden,” said the memo from Trump’s top campaign officials Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.

Earlier Monday, at his first campaign rally as Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance blamed Harris — as well as other Democrats and the media — for hiding that Biden “wasn’t capable of doing the job.”

“What is going on in this country is absolutely disgraceful,” Vance said.

Harris said her campaign “is not just about us vs. Donald Trump.” She delivered her vision for America’s future, “where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every person can buy a home, start a family and build wealth, and where every person has access to paid family leave and affordable childcare.”

Her priorities for a Harris presidency include passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act and issuing several gun control measures, such as universal background checks, “red flag laws” to prevent potentially threatening people from purchasing guns, and an assault weapons ban.

Some of the group’s loudest applause came when Harris pledged to sign into law national legislation protecting abortion access. Part of Democrats’ frustration with Biden, particularly during his disastrous performance at last month’s debate, was around his struggle to articulate a clear message on abortion. Abortion is one of the top motivating issues for Democratic voters, and one Harris has frequently championed on the campaign trail.

“In this election, we know we each face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?” she said. “A country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”

Harris seemed to relish the opportunity to shine in her first stump speech since her failed 2020 presidential bid.

“We have an election to win. So are you ready to get to work?” she roared with a grin, before concluding her speech with “God bless the United States of America and Joe Biden.”

‘Embrace her,’ Biden says as Harris gives her first speech as likely Democratic nominee

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