President Joe Biden suddenly announced his withdrawal from the 2024 White House race on July 21 and then announced his support for Ms. Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party's US presidential candidate.
Ms. Harris is the first woman of color and South Asian descent to hold the position of US vice president. If she becomes the Democratic candidate and defeats Republican candidate Donald Trump in the US presidential election next November, she will be the first woman to hold the position of US president.
In his announcement on July 21, Mr. Biden said that choosing Ms. Harris as his running mate was "the best decision I have made" and supported the vice president to succeed him.
Ms. Harris described Mr. Biden's decision to withdraw from the race for the White House as a "patriotic and selfless act", emphasizing that the 81-year-old leader is "putting the American people and our country first." everything else”.
“I am honored to receive the president's endorsement and it is my intention to win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking to Americans about the clear choice in this important election," said Ms. Kamala Harris.
Democratic Party leaders quickly expressed support for Ms. Kamla Harris on July 21, including the Black Group in the US Congress and former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Bill Clinton and Mrs. Hillary Clinton said: "We are honored to join the President in supporting Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her."
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama - who once shared his own concerns about Joe Biden's re-election chances - did not support Ms. Harris in sharing her praise when Mr. Biden stopped the race for the White House.
"I am extremely confident that our party leaders will be able to create a process from which an excellent candidate will emerge" - Mr. Barack Obama emphasized.
However, being endorsed does not guarantee Ms. Harris will win the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2024 US presidential election . There have been suggestions that the Democratic Party should hold a “mini primary” to consider other candidates before the party convention in Chicago next August.
A former prosecutor and US senator, Ms. Harris tried to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2020 but failed and then became Mr. Biden's running mate.
AP noted that Ms. Harris has been considered by many as a candidate to replace Mr. Biden. With foreign policy experience and a famous domestic name, Ms. Harris has an outstanding advantage over potential opponents including California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. .
Ms. Harris will have to try to find a way to avoid the same fate as Hubert Humphrey - the Vice President who won the Democratic Party nomination in 1968 after President Lyndon Johnson refused to run for re-election. That year, Mr. Humphrey lost to Republican Richard Nixon.
The US vice president is the first person who will take on the role of leading the country if the president dies or is incapacitated to continue leading. Ms. Harris has received unusually high attention partly because of Mr. Biden's age. Mr. Biden is the oldest US president in history, taking office at the age of 78 and announcing his re-election at the age of 80.
US Vice President Kamala Harris was born in 1964 in Oakland, California. She studied at Howard University in Washington. After graduation, Ms. Harris returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to study law and chose a career as a prosecutor. Ms. Harris married lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014 and became the stepmother of Emhoff's two children, Ella and Cole.
