Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Monday said Vice President Harris has his “full support” as she runs for president, while applauding President Biden for putting the “country first” and withdrawing from the 2024 race.
“I am very excited to throw my full support behind the vice president. I have seen her work as a prosecutor, as an attorney general, as a senator, as vice president,” Schiff said on NBC News’s “Today.” “I’m very excited to work with her as president. I haven’t seen this kind of excitement in the Democratic Party in quite a long time. People are really energized.”
Schiff is among multiple Democrats who quickly threw their support behind Harris, whom Biden endorsed for the Democratic nomination shortly after dropping out of the race.
Schiff, who is running for California Senate, was one of the most prominent Democrats to publicly urge Biden to step aside in recent weeks, following the president’s poor debate performance last month against former President Trump. During the debate, Biden’s speech frequently halted, and he appeared to lose his train of thought, fueling concerns over his mental acuity and age.
At 81, Biden is the oldest sitting U.S. president and has faced repeated criticism over his age and mental fitness for office.
“It was hard for all of us, frankly, because we admire Joe Biden. We respect Joe Biden, and more than that, we have tremendous affection for Joe Biden. He’s a wonderful and decent human being,” Schiff said Monday.
“I made my own judgment about what I thought was best in urging the president to consider what he thought was the right direction for the country. And I think that Joe Biden wasn’t going to be intimidated or pushed or anything else. He was going to make his decision when he was ready to make it. And once again he did what he has always done through his lengthy, multi-decade career, and that is put country first,” he added.
When asked how he justifies publicly urging Biden to step aside from the race but not to resign, Schiff said, ‘Well, my concern was whether he would be able to win, whether he’d be able to prosecute the case against Donald Trump.”
“I have every confidence in his abilities as president and his ability to continue doing the remarkable job that he’s doing,” he continued.