All language subtitles for CNN - Kamala Harris releases statement after Biden steps down from 2024 race (720p).English

MJ. I understand that the Vice p

Kamala Harris, has issued her
first public statement.

I don't know if you have it righ
but presumably it's on your phon

if you didn't have it.

Maybe you can read it to our vie

Yeah, I've got it.

Wolf, we do have the first publi
statement from Vice President Ka

Harris in the aftermath of Presi
dropping out of the 2024 race.

She says that she was honored
to have received President

Biden's endorsement and intends
and win the nomination for the p

This, of course, is the first ti
that we are hearing from him.

We did report earlier that Presi
and Vice President Harris

did speak on the phone earlier t

That is not surprising.

Just a little bit
more from the vice president's s

He or she says, I am honored to
the president's endorsement

and my intention is to earn
and win this nomination.

And she also says talks
about how it has been such a pro

honor to have served as the pres
vice president, expresses her gr

to first Lady
Jill Biden as well, and talks

about sort of the relationship
that they have built over the ye

including the relationship that

with the president's late son, B

This, of course, is something
that the president has talked ab

in the past as having been a fac
when he was trying to decide

who his vice presidential runnin
mate would be back in 2020.

The vice president also says
in her statement, with the selfl

and patriotic Act,

President Biden is doing what he
throughout his life of service,

putting the American people
and our country above everything

Wolf, all of the attention now
is going to really be on Kamala

This has already been the case
for the last several weeks as we

sort of in limbo, trying to see

where the president was going to
in terms of his own decision.

But of course,

given that things seemed headed
in the wrong direction for the p

for a while
now, there has been a lot of spe

about Vice President Harris
and whether and endorsement form

would come from the president,
which of course, it has.

And so now we are going to be pa
attention to everything that she

just in the coming days.

How does she carry herself in pu
now that this news is out?

Does she sort of
step up her campaign operations,

which according to our reporting
of course, is going to be the ca

We already know that
in the last several days

we have seen her sort of step up
as the president has been in rol

including at the last minute,
jumping on a call with concerned

just several days ago,
within the last 48 hours or so.

So this is something
now that is totally a different

for Vice President Kamala Harris
than it was, of course, a day ag

And all attention is going to be
as the party now figures out

how they are going to move forwa
with this nomination process Wol

If she's going to be the leader

of the Democratic Party
and the Democratic presidential

We'll watch all of this very clo
M.J. Lee.

We will get back to you.
Thank you very, very much.

Dramatic developments
unfolding right now as well.

Caitlin. I want to go back to yo

Yeah, Wolf,
obviously we're monitoring this.

Everything is changing by the mo

We just got that news from Senat
Chris Coons a few moments ago.

That is the co-chair of the Bide
getting behind Harris

as the nominee as well, saying t
they will talk about in the comi

who she could select to put on t
with her as her running mate.

Obviously, a dramatic developmen

HARRIS Now, in this situation,
we're waiting to see

what other
Democrats continue to say about

I want to go back to Van Jones,

because then you were just talki
about what this day means

and the significance of this
in a personal level for Presiden

But also it's a real calculus
now for Democrats of what do the

given there are four months to g
before the presidential election

What do you make of Harris's sta
where she plans

to earn and win this nomination?

I think that's very

politically astute of her to say
because, again, this is a party

that runs by rules and we take t
very seriously technically.

Joe Biden can't just say you're
now the nominee.

If Joe Biden step down from pres

the Constitution says
she's automatically president.

But this is not about the Consti

It's about the Democratic Party.

And under our rules, it's
the delegates who make the decis

It's not Joe
Biden. It's not Kamala Harris.

It's not Nancy Pelosi.

It's not the Clintons. It's
not the Obamas.

Our delegates make the decision.

And so she's being very politica

by saying to the delegates,
I am going to work to earn your

I appreciate the support I'm get
from the Clintons and from every

But I understand that it comes d
and by saying she's going

to work to earn that support, I
that's that's very, very smart.

So that gives the delegates
the opportunity

to feel that they can
you know, they they have a job t

They have to make a decision her

Also, I think that she's she's l

other people know the water is w

You want to jump in, you want to

You can try to earn these delega
support as well.

She's not saying you
if you come against me, it's a p

She's not closing the door.

She's not saying,
I accept Joe Biden, therefore I'

No, no, no.

So that puts other Democrats
in a very interesting position.

If you're a swing state governor
if you're a rising star in this

if you're a celebrity,
if you're somebody who wants to

I don't believe in Kamala Harris
I don't trust that she can win.

I think I can win.
What are you going to do?

You're going to have to make the
that.

No, no, I'm going to raise my ha
and I'm going to say

I think I could do a better job.

I think I can win
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michiga

I think I have a better shot and
I want those delegates to listen

So you have to watch over the ne
48 hours, does anybody else

raise their hand and say that th
to also earn the nomination?

What she's acknowledging is
the nomination is not yet hers.

And that's a very, very big deal

That's a that's a true fact.

But, you know, in other parties,
you might just have somebody

just demagogue it, steamroll it,
you know, everybody get behind m

I am now going to lead this part

She's not doing that
very politically astute.

But when you've been involved

in Democratic politics
your whole life, to see the Clin

the president, top senators
getting behind her as the nomine

Do you think anyone else,
if you are a governor and or a D

who has a lot of star potential
going forward,

that you would that they'd be br
to kind of get in this

this ring at this point with wit
who's lining up Biden-Harris so

It would take an

extraordinary amount of self-con
a belief and self to do it.

But are there doors that are sti

Yes, our doors are still open.

For instance, Pelosi hasn't yet
said she's for Kamala.

President Obama,
as usual, is staying very, very

at least publicly,
to make sure that because he is

the rock star of rock stars
in this party, that he doesn't t

it one way or the other.

And so you do have some doors
that are still open.

And so but the grade just got st
because Joe Biden gave the endor

He gave it immediately.

The Clintons came out and it was
by the way, wasn't just Bill Cli

Let's be fair.

It was Bill Clinton and it was H
Clinton, a beloved, powerful nom

The last time he nominated a wom
it was Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton came out immedia
and said, I'm with Kamala.

So the grade just got steeper fo

But the door is not yet closed
politically.

It's certainly not closed from
a bureaucratic or tactical point

Kamala
Harris wants to earn that nomina

I guarantee you the whip operati
is called the whipping operation

She had people who love her, who
in her, who work with her for ye

who are calling delegates,
who are calling online personali

and other people trying to tryin
to get people ready to stick wit

if the ball comes to her.

And so can you put together
a whipping operation that as str

as kamala's in a short period of

You have to look at a lot of dif

challenges here.

But if somebody has the fire in
and say, listen, I don't believe

karma can win at the top of the
I don't believe this.

I don't believe that.

I think I can do it.

Comment Harris just said,

come on in. The water is warm.

Well, you know what I thought ab
I saw that both Clintons got beh

I was thinking of Hillary Clinto
because she is a woman who knows

it's like to run against Donald

And that could be the position w

HARRISON We don't know yet.

Obviously, we're keeping our pow

We're waiting to see
what Democrats decide here.

But it does seem like that's a s
the Trump campaign has been prep

They have been singling out.

Harris I noticed it multiple tim
when you and I were in Milwaukee

for the Republican convention.

And I just wonder what the on
its early basis,

what you think that race would l
a Harris versus Donald Trump,

you know, the prosecutor versus
the person who got prosecuted.

I mean, you know, it kind of wri
in some ways from our side.

Also,

you have a younger voice,
you have a younger, more dynamic

You have somebody who,
you know is we've never seen thi

I've never seen a black female,
an Asian female.

You've never seen that before.

And I think Trump's got to figur
how he wants to deal with it.

They love to demean women.

That's that's
something that the Trump team do

They do it too much.

It actually goes against, you kn

they put women in positions of p
sometimes inside the Trump team,

but they still have this public
of just demeaning women, demeani

That's tougher to do
when you've got someone like Kam

as Kamala Harris got to make the
issue a lot tougher.

You know,

Kamala Harris, the first couple
she wasn't impressing a lot of p

Her polling numbers weren't that

Her confidence inside the Democr
wasn't that high.

But you've seen her over the pas
get stronger and stronger on the

You've seen her get more
and more self-confident in the i

You've also seen the party
warming up to her,

especially black voters
who are so critical.

And so you've got a real matchup

because you've got somebody who
you know,

at times been very,
very strong in that prosecutor r

Most people think about Kamala H

They don't think about her
as vice president.

They think about her being in th
grilling nominees from the Trump

administration, grilling

CEOs, just going after people
and putting them in their place.

So that side of her personality
gets a chance to come forward

now in a very different way.

Kamala Harris won
a lot of support from people.

When Biden stumbled, Biden stumb

He didn't do well in debate.
Everybody was freaking out.

And I was sitting right
next to Anderson Cooper.

When Anderson Cooper
brought Kamala Harris on.

She was cool.

She was calm, she was collected.

She was strong.

There was no time for anybody hi
or talking points.

There was no time for anybody
to write up a speech.

There was no teleprompter.

She had to just literally walk o
after her running mate had falle

Looking that camera and deliver.

And she delivered
such a strong performance

that it gave people in this part
much more confidence in her.

So she's she's riding a little b
of a wave now of momentum

and support, but the door is not

There is a process we have to go

There are still big donors and b

figures in our party
that have not yet said where the

So if somebody wants to jump
in, it is not a done deal yet.

Somebody could still
challenge Kamala Harris.