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4 months ago
24
US Vice President Kamala Harris has sent an uplifting message to the 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 reelection bid and endorsed her as his successor.
The 59-year-old broke her silence on Biden while hosting an event to honor college sports stars, with National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams from the 2023-2024 season invited to the White House on Monday.
And with six Team USA athletes present at the event, Harris made sure to wish them luck before they head off to the French capital.
'As members of Team USA, you are ambassadors for our nation and with pride we will cheer you on,' she said.
Vice President Kamala Harris has sent an uplifting message to the country's Olympic hopefuls
'And we look forward to congratulating you when you bring home the gold.'
The Olympic Games are set to begin in Paris later this week, with the traditional opening ceremony in store on Friday.
On Monday it was announced that NBA icon LeBron James will be Team USA's flagbearer for the opening ceremony, the first time an American basketball player has ever received the honor.
Harris has moved swiftly to lock up the Democratic presidential nomination after Biden announced on Sunday that he was stepping aside, bowing to pressure from fellow Democrats.
Virtually all of the prominent Democrats who had been seen as potential challengers to Harris have lined up behind her, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Campaign officials and allies have already made hundreds of calls on her behalf, urging delegates to next month's Democratic Party convention to join in nominating her for president in the Nov. 5 election against Republican Donald Trump.
Harris gave her first speech since Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race while honoring college athletes at the White House
Biden announced on Sunday that he was stepping aside after bowing to pressure from his fellow Democrats
The Olympic Games are set to begin in Paris later this week, with the traditional opening ceremony in store on Friday
Biden's departure was the latest shock to a White House race that included the near-assassination of former President Trump by a gunman during a campaign stop and the nomination of Trump's fellow hardliner, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, as his running mate.
'My intention is to earn and win this nomination,' Harris said in a statement on 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 ever to have occupied the Oval Office, said he would remain in the presidency until his term ends on Jan. 20, 2025.
Biden's shaky June 27 debate performance against Trump led senior Democrats to urge him to end his run, but senior Republicans have demanded he resign from office, arguing that if he is not fit to campaign, he is not fit to govern.
English (US)