US Vice-President Kamala Harris says "we are going to win" as she addresses campaign staff in Delaware
President Joe Biden dials into her first campaign rally and says leaving the 2024 race "was the right thing to do"
It comes as more leading Democrats back Harris as the party's new presidential nominee, with her campaign seeing a surge in donations
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says her support for Harris is "official, personal and political"
Biden had faced weeks of increasing calls to step aside - he'll stay on as president for the rest of the term
But Donald Trump has echoed other Republicans, saying, "if he can't run for office, he can't run our country"
Trump's running mate JD Vance makes his first solo appearance on the campaign trail, with a speech in Ohio
Kamala Harris: From prosecutor to possible president
Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman - who has been one of the most vocal supporters of Biden staying in the presidential race in recent weeks - has endorsed Kamala Harris.
"Proud to support and be all in for the next president," he posted on social media.
The message was posted alongside a banner which reads: "Let's win this. Harris for president."
Image source, PA MediaNancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House, has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee.
"Today it is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future, that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States. My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal and political," she said in a statement.
"I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November."
Image source, Getty ImagesColorado Governor Jared Polis says he would be open to running for vice-president if he was asked.
Speaking to CNN, Polis says it isn't a conversation he was actively having.
But he quipped: "If they do the polling and it turns out that they need a 49-year-old, balding, gay Jew from Boulder, Colorado – they've got my number.”
Image source, ReutersMike Pence says President Biden made the right decision in stepping down from re-election on Sunday, and calls for both parties to "project calm" and "strength".
In a post on X, external, the former Republican vice-president thanks Biden for "putting the interests of our Nation ahead of his own."
He adds that now is the time for leaders in both parties to "project calm and send a message of strength and resolve to America’s friends and enemies alike that, whatever the state of our politics, the American people are strong and our American military stands ready to defend our freedom and our vital national interests anywhere in the world."
Pence does not mention Harris in his statement.
As we've reported, the Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer has endorsed Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate and is among those being touted as a potential vice-president pick.
She also announced in a post on social media, external that she was "proud to serve as co-chair" of the Harris campaign.
But when Whitmer was asked by WLNS 6 News whether she would take on the VP role if offered, the answer was, "No".
“I’m not going anywhere,” Whitmer said. "I'm not leaving Michigan."
Ione Wells
Reporting from Delaware
Just up the beach from Joe Biden's Delaware holiday home - where he is still recovering from Covid - we bumped into a group of lifeguards.
Michael Rodriguez, 22, (on the right in the picture above) says he is in the military and while he might not agree with everything Joe Biden does, the thinks that at the end of the day, the president "probably should have stepped down".
He says he is "not a fan" of Kamala Harris, arguing she "incriminated a lot of people back in her time," referring to the vice-president's previous tenure as a prosecutor in California.
Rodriguez says although he doesn't necessarily agree with that argument against her, "I'm just not a fan".
"What I don’t like about their party right now is they're inconsistent," he adds, in reference to the drama of the last few weeks.
"You look at the Republican Party right now and they’re ready to roll."
Separately, one self-declared Republican voter I spoke to, who was cycling with his family, said he wanted to see "fresh blood" on both sides - hinting he would like to see both parties pick younger candidates.
Michael Sheils McNamee
Live reporter
As we've been reporting, Kamala Harris's remarks on the White House South Lawn were brief.
In her address, she paid tribute to President Joe Biden and praised the NCAA athletes in attendance.
The reason for the brevity, in her first appearance since President Biden stepped back from the race and endorsed her to take on Donald Trump in this year's election, and with the world watching, is that the vice-president would have been limited in what she could say about her own campaign by rules against political campaigning at the White House.
US federal employees are governed by something called the Hatch Act, which dates back to the 1930s, external.
It rules that federal employees "may not engage in political activity while on duty, in the workplace, wearing a uniform or official insignia, or in a government vehicle".
A quirk of the law is that the president and vice-president are not subject to it , external- but all of the White House staff are, and for this reason would not have been able to help with the set up for the speech.
Will Vernon
Former North America correspondent
Byron from Dundee asks: Why is there never a credible third candidate?
The US has had a two-party system ever since it was founded. There are third parties in America, but their candidates never come anywhere close to winning the election.
But there can be what we call spoiler candidate – that's basically when you have a third candidate that takes votes away from the other two and can influence the outcome.
For example in 2016, when Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election to Donald Trump, a lot of people blamed Jill Stein. She was the candidate for the Green Party and people accused her of taking votes away from Clinton and splitting the vote. Stein always denied that, but that gives you an idea of how third party candidates can have influence.
In 1992, Ross Perot became the most successful third-party candidate in eight decades when he finished the race with 19% of the popular vote.
Ione Wells
Reporting from Delaware
Kai from Scotland asks: How will Kamala Harris be able to run when the primaries have already chosen Joe Biden?Those primaries have already taken place, but Joe Biden hadn’t officially been confirmed as the nominee – that’s something that would have taken place at the Democratic convention which is later in August.
Donald Trump has already had the Republican convention, so he is officially confirmed as the nominee, but there is still this open window where the Democrats haven’t actually officially confirmed anyone as their nominee yet.
It’s a slightly strange quirk in the system, but it is why there was all this pressure building on Biden before, because that deadline was approaching.
Amani from Surrey asks: Kamala Harris winning the presidential election would mean not only that she is the first woman to be president but the first woman of black and South Asian descent. Would these factors, combined with the fact that she’s had little time to campaign, mean that the odds are too far against her?
We put this question to Irie Sentner, a reporter from Politico:
The fact that she’s had relatively little time to campaign absolutely means that the odds are stacked against Kamala Harris.
Campaigns start years and years out and she did not know this was going to happen until yesterday, so that definitely means that she has an uphill battle.
It’s important to remember that in the 2016 election a woman, Hillary Clinton, won the popular vote even though Donald Trump won the electoral college. Before that, Barack Obama, who is a black man, won two elections in 2008 and 2012.
So, that shows that Americans are willing to vote for black and female candidates, but it will still be a challenge for Harris.
Will Vernon
Former North America correspondent
Just before Kamala Harris began speaking, our experts were live on Instagram, TikTok and the stream on our page answering questions from our audience. We will now be bringing you a selection of those questions.
Lily from London asks: Why haven't Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi endorsed Kamala Harris?
This is a big talking point in Washington today, but I don’t think we should read too much into it.
People around the Obamas have in the past few hours been telling journalists anonymously that this wasn’t a snub, that it’s not a middle finger up to Harris, but that Barack Obama sees himself as an elder statesman who is above the personal politics.
The reason we think Nancy Pelosi hasn’t yet endorsed Harris is that she has had an incredibly close relationship with Joe Biden and is apparently very upset that her good friend, colleague, a man she has worked with for decades, is basically at the sudden end of his career. So, she is coming to terms with that.
Image source, ReutersHarris goes on to thank and applaud the athletes' achievements. She emphasises the importance of teammates in an extended segment, and says they have endured challenges and demonstrated grit and determination.
She then gives way to one of those athletes to speak.
That concludes the very brief remarks from the US vice-president in her first public appearance since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to take on Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Alex Lederman
Reporting from the South Lawn
Harris then moves on to celebrate the athletes gathered at the White House.
She has not addressed her candidacy. But no doubt, her remarks about the president were a nod to his decision to step aside in the presidential campaign.
She will head to Delaware after this event to meet with campaign staff.
Moving on to President Biden's legacy, Harris says it has surpassed that of presidents who served two terms in office.
Harris says Biden's son Beau often told her what kind of man his father was, adding that it is these same qualities she sees in the president every day - laying those out as being honesty, integrity, commitment to faith and family, big heart and love of country.
She adds that she is "deeply grateful for his service to our nation".
Alex Lederman
Reporting from the South Lawn
Biden's legacy of accomplishment is unmatched - Harris
The crowd stood and some cheered as the PA announced Kamala Harris's entry onto the White House South Lawn.
Harris begins her remarks by paying tribute to Joe Biden, who is not here because he has Covid-19.
“Yes, you can clap,” she tells the crowd after listing his accomplishments.
After some fanfare to celebrate the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams, Kamala Harris is now at the podium, addressing the crowd gathered on the South Lawn.
Stay with us as we bring you the key lines.
While we are waiting for Kamala Harris to speak, both President Joe Biden and the vice-president have just reminded their supporters of one thing: togetherness.
In a new post on X, external, Biden repeats some of what he said in his statement announcing the end of his re-election campaign yesterday.
"We are the United States of America – there's nothing we can't do if we do it together," he writes.
The president says he's dedicated his presidency to that sentiment and "will continue to do so today, tomorrow, and every day that I have the honor of being your president."
The vice-president also says, in a post on X, external, that "together, we're going to win this."
We're expecting to hear from Kamala Harris in a few minutes.
It'll be the vice-president's first public remarks since Joe Biden announced he was no longer running, albeit at an event planned before he transformed the presidential race on Sunday.
You can watch along at the top of this page, and we'll be bringing you text updates here with any key lines.
Alex Lederman
Reporting from the White House
I’m here at the White House, where Kamala Harris will make her first public remarks since Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election and endorsed her for the Democratic presidential nomination.
She’s speaking on the White House South Lawn at an event to celebrate National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams.
Dozens of reporters have gathered to hear what the newly-declared candidate for president has to say. This was a pre-planned event before President Biden dropped out of the race.
But with Harris’s presence, interest has skyrocketed in the normally light-hearted gathering - even despite the weather: it’s lightly drizzling and humid outside.
With Biden stuck in Delaware, isolating with Covid-19, it is symbolic that the first White House event will be hosted by Harris — whom he endorsed to be his successor to take on Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Image source, KAMALA HARRISKamala as child with her mother and younger sister Maya
Kamala Harris, 59, is the first woman, and first black and Asian-American, to serve as vice-president.
She was born in Oakland, California, to immigrant parents from India and Jamaica, and studied at one of the nation's preeminent historically black colleges and universities, Howard University in Washington DC.
Harris previously worked as a prosecutor, including as district attorney of San Francisco and she was the first woman and first black person to serve as California's attorney general.
In 2016, she became only the second African-American woman to serve in the US senate. She also unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for presidency in 2020.
She married lawyer Doug Emhoff in 2014, and is stepmother to his children Cole and Ella.