Washington, Aug 13 (UNI) United States presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden attended a campaign event in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, together with Kamala Harris, his choice of Democratic vice-presidential candidate, in what was the duo's first public appearance as running mates.
Postponed for several hours due to power outage on site, the event, held in a basketball venue on Wednesday, finally saw the former vice-president and the senator from California walk out side by side, both donning masks.
"I picked the right person to join me as the next vice-president of the United States of America and that's senator Kamala Harris," Biden said, praising the first South Asian-American woman to be nominated for vice-president in a major party as being "smart," "tough," "experienced," and "a proven fighter for the backbone of this country - the middle class."
Sitting next to the podium and keeping social distance with Biden, Harris, however, took off her mask as she listened to Biden, who spoke without wearing the mask either.
Biden in his remarks pledged that a "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration will have a comprehensive plan to meet the challenge of COVID-19 and turn the corner on this pandemic," adding that they will adhere to "masking, clear science-based guidance," while "dramatically scaling up testing, getting states and local governments the resources they need to open the schools and businesses safely."
Indian-origin Senator Kamala Devi Harris, in her opening remarks talked about her parents, Jamaican and Indian immigrants, and discussed the importance of family in her life.
"I have had a lot of titles over my career and certainly vice president will be great. But 'Momala' will always be the one that means the most," CNN quoted Harris as saying.
Sharing how her parents, Jamaican and Indian immigrants, met while protesting for civil rights in Oakland in the 1960s, she said,"My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America. One from India and the other from Jamaica in search of a world-class education. But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And that is how they met as students in the streets of Oakland marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today."
Harris accused US President Donald Trump of the mishandling of coronavirus. The US leads the world with more than 5 million coronavirus cases "because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start," she said.
"His refusal to get testing up to 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 a reason and the reason that an American dies of Covid-19 every 80 seconds," Harris said regarding Trump.
In her latest attack on the 45th US President, Kamala has tweeted, "Trump inherited the longest economic expansion in history from @BarackObama and @JoeBiden. And then, like everything else he inherited, he ran it straight into the ground."
Harris also honoured the women who helped pave the way for her and acknowledged the work needed to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
"After the most competitive primary in history, the country received a resounding message that Joe was the person to lead us forward and, Joe, I am so proud to stand with you. And I do so mindful of all the heroic and ambitious women before me whose sacrifice, determination and resilience make my presence here today even possible," Harris said.
"@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he's spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he'll build an America that lives up to our ideals. I'm honored to join him as our party's nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief," she had later tweeted.
The California Democrat said she was "incredibly honoured by this responsibility" and that she was "ready to get to work." "I am ready to get to work," she said.
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