America is crying out for leadership: Harris says during first joint appearance with Biden as running mates

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made a maiden public appearance with his running mate Kamala Harris on Wednesday during which the Indian-American shredded President Donald Trump’s White House record, saying America is "crying out for leadership." Biden, a 77-year-old white man, on Tuesday named 55-year-old Harris as his vice-presidential running mate, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.


PTI | Washington DC | Updated: 13-08-2020 20:29 IST | Created: 13-08-2020 20:17 IST
America is crying out for leadership: Harris says during first joint appearance with Biden as running mates
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made a maiden public appearance with his running mate Kamala Harris on Wednesday during which the Indian-American shredded President Donald Trump’s White House record, saying America is "crying out for leadership." Biden, a 77-year-old white man, on Tuesday named 55-year-old Harris as his vice-presidential running mate, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket. Jointly appearing in Wilmington, Delaware, to make their election case for the first time as running mates, Biden said his pick for the party's vice presidential nominee is “smart, tough and a proven fighter for the country's middle class”.

“She knows how to make the hard calls. She's ready to do this job on day one. And we're both ready to get to work rebuilding this nation and building a better,” the 77-year-old Democrat said. He noted that Trump has already started his attacks, calling Harris nasty, whining about how she is.

"It's not a surprise because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in American history," the former US vice president said. The event was not open to the public due to coronavirus prevention needs. Both Biden and Harris walked on stage wearing masks to address a socially distanced group of masked journalists. Harris said President Trump's mismangement of the COVID-19 pandemic has plunged Americans into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. "We are experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country demanding change. America is crying out for leadership," she said. "This is a moment of real consequence for America," the California Senator said. "Everything we care about–our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in–it's all on the line. We're reeling from the worst public health crisis in a century," Harris said as she presented a list of missteps taken by the Trump administration.

"This is is what happens when we elect a guy who just isn't up for the job," Harris said. "Our country ends in tatters and so does our reputation around the world." Harris said that once elected, the Biden administration will create millions of jobs, fight climate change and build an affordable care act among various other strong initiatives for the welfare of Americans. Harris said the case against President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence is “open and shut” as she mentioned a lot of sectors where the current administration has created a complete mess.

"Just look where they've gotten us. More than 16 million out of work, millions of kids who cannot go back to school, a crisis of poverty, of homelessness afflicting black, brown, and indigenous people the most..," she said. Harris noted that over 165,000 lives have been cut short, many with loved ones who never got the chance to say goodbye, she said, referring to the COVID-19 deaths in the country.

"It didn't have to be this way. Six years ago, in fact, we had a different health crisis. It was called Ebola. And we all remember that pandemic. But you know what happened then? Barack Obama and Joe Biden did their job. Only two people in the United States died, two,” Harris said. That is what's called leadership, she said. "But compare that to the moment we find ourselves in now. When other countries are following the science, Trump pushed miracle cures he saw on Fox News. While other countries were flattening the curve, he said the virus would just, poof, go away like a miracle,” she alleged.

She said it was due to the fault of the Trump administration that the US had to shut down various of its regions again while other countries were opening up. Harris alleged that it is because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start.

“His refusal to get testing up and running, his flip-flopping on social distancing and wearing masks, his delusional belief that he knows better than the experts. All of that is the reason that an American dies of COVID-19 every 80 seconds,” she said. "This election isn't just about defeating Donald Trump or Mike Pence. It's about building this country back better, and that's exactly what Joe and I will do,” she said.

"As Biden-Harris Administration, we will create millions of jobs and fight climate change through a clean energy revolution, bring back critical supply chains so the future is made in America...," she said. “We'll protect a woman's right to make her own decisions about her own body, root out systemic racism in our justice system, and pass a new Voting Rights Act, a John Lewis Voting Rights Act, that will ensure every voice is heard and every voice is counted," Harris added.

She said the Biden-Harris administration will ensure equality for the people of America. "The civil rights struggle is nothing new to Joe. It's why he got into public service. It's why he helped reauthorise the Voting Rights Act and restore unemployment discrimination--and employment discrimination laws. "And today, he takes his place in the ongoing story of America's march toward equality and justice as only--as the only, as the only who has served alongside the first black president and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate,” Harris said.

Meanwhile, Biden raised USD 26 million for his presidential campaign in the 24 hours that followed his announcement on picking Harris to be his running mate.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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