Joe Biden has vowed “I’m not going anywhere” and he is “going to be working like hell” in his final months as US president and as he campaigns for Kamala Harris to be his successor.
He was speaking in a phone call to workers at the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, in his first public comments since he announced at the weekend he would be quitting the 2024 White House race and endorse his vice-president instead.
Ms Harris also addressed the staff in Delaware, where she hit out at Republican Donald Trump.
The vice president, 59, is the only declared Democratic candidate so far to be the party’s nominee ahead of November’s election against 78-year-old Mr Trump.
The 81-year-old leader said on Sunday he was no longer standing for re-election after weeks of pressure from within his own party amid concerns about his health and fitness to serve another four years in office.
Latest updates: Biden surprises campaign staff with phone call
Mr Biden told supporters on Monday: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to 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.”
Mr Biden added that even though “I won’t be on the ticket… I’m still going to be fully, fully engaged”.
“I’ve got six months left of my presidency, I’m determined to get as much done as I possibly can. Both foreign policy and domestic policy.”
On supporting Ms Harris, he said: “I’ll be doing whatever Kamala wants me or needs me to do. We’re still fighting in this fight together.”
He hit out at Mr Trump, saying he was “still a danger to the communities, a danger to the nation”.
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Who is Kamala Harris?
Ms Harris then began by saying “I love you, Joe” while the president stayed on the line.
She said: “Over the next 106 days we are going to take our case to the American people and we are going to win.”
Ms Harris said Mr Biden created millions of jobs and “got the COVID pandemic under control”.
She also said Mr Biden “stood up” for democracy at home and abroad.
Discussing her time as a state prosecutor, she said she “took on perpetrators of all kinds”.
She added: “I know Donald Trump’s type, and in this campaign I will proudly put my record against his.”
Ms Harris said: “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.”
She also pledged an “assault weapons ban” and said she would fight for “reproductive freedom”.
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Biden’s legacy ‘unmatched in modern history’
Earlier in the day, at an event for college athletes in the White House grounds, Ms Harris said Mr Biden’s legacy of accomplishment was unmatched in modern history.
He is currently recovering from COVID, with Ms Harris saying he is “feeling much better and recovering fast”.
Her campaign has said it has raised $81m (£62m) in its first 24 hours.
The team said the 24-hour figure was the biggest of “any candidate in history”.
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House Speaker calls on Biden to resign
The $81m is in addition to an existing, almost $250m “war chest” which was raised “across the campaign, Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees”.
Ms Harris has been working to secure endorsements from a majority of its delegates and if she wins the nomination, she will need to pick a running mate.
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, seen as a possible rival for the Democratic nomination after President Biden‘s exit, has backed Ms Harris in a post on X, saying the vice president had her full support.
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Trump: ‘Harris is not competent person’
Several other potential Democratic challengers, including California governor Gavin Newsom and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, have also supported Ms Harris’s bid. Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has also backed Ms Harris.
However, ex-president Barack Obama has not announced who he wants to be the party’s nominee.
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The Trump campaign has been preparing for Ms Harris’s possible rise for weeks, sources told the Reuters news agency, and planned to try to tie her closely to Mr Biden’s policies on immigration and the economy.
Mr Biden, who is the oldest person ever to have occupied the Oval Office, has said he will remain as president until his term ends on 20 January 2025.