Harris, Biden Make First Joint Appearance After Ticket Switch

Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden appeared together at an event for the first time since the president ended his bid for a second term and Harris replaced him as the Democratic nominee.

The event, held just outside Washington, DC, came as Donald Trump spoke at a press conference in New Jersey, his second campaign event in the past two days.

Thursday’s Democratic event celebrated a new deal announced by the Biden administration to reduce the cost of 10 common prescription drugs for millions of Americans.

It also offered a glimpse into the dynamics of the pair, just weeks after the party realigned its positions.

The White House said about 2,300 people attended Thursday’s rally in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, a Democratic stronghold.

“I have an incredible partner in the progress we’ve made,” the president said. “She’s going to be a fantastic president.”

But more than the policy announcement, Mr Biden gave his vice president a boost. He brought the crowd to its feet several times.

The warm feelings were mutual.

“There’s a lot of love in this room for our president,” Ms. Harris said. “Few leaders in our nation have done more, on so many issues, including expanding access to affordable health care, than Joe Biden.”

Thousands of people lined up in the summer heat for a chance to see Mr Biden and Ms Harris speak. Video on social media showed hundreds still waiting in line as the venue reached capacity.

It is the latest in a series of events hosted by Ms. Harris that have drawn large crowds of supporters and signaled a notable shift in energy in the presidential race.

Ms Harris, however, has largely avoided questions from the media and has yet to give an interview since becoming her party’s nominee.

Her supporters’ enthusiasm is also showing up in polling data. A recent Cook Political Report poll suggests Harris is erasing former President Donald Trump’s polling leads in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Vivian Strong waited three hours to get into Thursday’s event. She hoped to be part of a historic moment, she told the BBC.

“I feel a sense of urgency to make sure she actually gets elected,” he said. “I would hate to have another administration of the other guy.”

Before the president and vice president took the stage, supporters led the crowd in chants of Howard University, Ms. Harris’s historic alma mater in Washington, D.C.

Many of the vice president’s supporters wore pink and green, the colors of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority, to which Ms. Harris belonged.

Linda Jones, a Howard alumna and member of AKA, said their shared identity excites her. But she was also eager to see Mr Biden speak.

“I’m delighted that President Biden has been able to deliver something he’s worked so hard to achieve,” Jones told the BBC, referring to the prescription drug deal.

“He is such a good man and I felt very bad because he left with a cloud, so now I feel [this policy] It’s an extra boost for him.”

Meanwhile, Mr Trump, speaking from his golf resort in Bedminster, lashed out at Ms Harris during his press conference, his second in a matter of weeks.

He claimed he had a “right to personal attacks” against Ms Harris and touched on her campaign’s key themes, attacking her record on inflation, crime and immigration.

Trump, flanked by signs displaying common supermarket items and showing the price increases for each one in recent years, asked, “How can a family afford this?”

U.S. inflation rose at its slowest pace in more than three years last month, signaling a relief for consumers. Inflation has been a major financial concern for many Americans.

“You don’t have to imagine what a Kamala Harris presidency would mean, because you’re living that nightmare right now,” Trump said.

“I don’t have much respect for her. I don’t have much respect for her intelligence,” he said, adding, “People say, ‘Oh, be nice. ‘ But they’re not nice to me. They want to put me in prison.”

On Thursday morning, US media reported that the Secret Service would begin using bulletproof glass to protect Trump whenever he speaks on stage at outdoor campaign events.

This measure is usually applied to sitting presidents, but an exception was made following Trump’s attempted assassination in Pennsylvania last month.

The secret service declined to comment on the reports.