Harris praises Biden 'integrity', 'honesty' in White House remarks

Harris is leading candidate to replace Biden for the Democratic nomination

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the White House. (Screenshot of CNN, Tom LoBianco/24sight News.)

WASHINGTON _ Kamala Harris kept her remarks short and neat, Monday, in her first speech since Joe Biden announced his departure from the race and endorsed her — but the race to November 5 is unlikely to feel either quick or tidy as the 2024 enters an entirely new territory.

Speaking before college athletes gathered at the White House, the vice president, who has fast locked up support inside the Democratic Party to secure the nomination, was reverential of Biden talking of her talks with Beau Biden when they were attorneys general years ago.

"The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president: his honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart and his deep love of our country," Harris said.

And even as she quickly pivoted to praising the student athletes, she hinted at what could be a theme of her nascent White House bid, praising their teamwork and coordination.

And top Democrats who had been in a panic for weeks since President Biden’s flailing debate performance responded in kind with a flood new campaign cash for the woman who appears all but certain to be the Democratic nominee.

Harris’s newly minted campaign, running on the apparatus of the Biden ticket, announced pulling in a whopping $81 million after Biden’s exit. And Democratic super PAC. And Biden’s official super PAC, Future Forward, announced $150 million in planned donations for Harris, Politico reported.