US Vice President Kamala Harris breaks silence after Joe Biden drops out of race for President: ‘remarkable legacy’

US Vice President Kamala Harris has thanked Joe Biden for his time in office, saying his “legacy of accomplishment” is both “unmatched” and surpasses the “legacy of many presidents who have served two terms in office”.

Biden has endorsed Harris as his heir apparent, ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.

Biden formally dropped out of the race on Sunday US time, releasing a statement about the decision after weeks of mounting speculation he was unfit for the task.

“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your president,” he wrote.

“And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

Biden said he would formally address the nation later in the week.

Within hours, Kamala released a statement in which she praised Biden for his record of achievement, along with the entire Biden family.

Harris said he was “putting the American people and our country above everything else”.

“On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country,” Harris said in the statement.

“His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many presidents who have served two terms in office.”

Harris spoke of her own time as vice president, writing: “It is a profound honour to serve as his vice president, and I am deeply grateful to the president, Dr (Jill) Biden, and the entire Biden family.

“I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau. We were friends from our days working together as attorneys general of our home states.

“As we worked together, Beau would tell me stories about his dad. The kind of father—and the kind of man—he was. And the qualities Beau revered in his father are the same qualities, the same values, I have seen every single day in Joe’s leadership as president: His honesty and integrity.

“His big heart and commitment to his faith and his family. And his love of our country and the American people.

“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else.”

Harris spoke of his endorsement of her.

“I am honoured to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have travelled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election.

“And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

Harris has already secured the support of major Democratic figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton.

However, she did not explicitly receive an endorsement from Barack Obama in his statement about the president stepping down.

Concerns about Biden’s ability to serve for another four years have been bubbling for months, but were thrust into the spotlight during a shaky June 27 debate performance against Trump.

In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race, former president Trump described Biden as “going down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.”