Kamala Harris as vice president was long overdue, says Biden

Biden, 77, and Harris, 56, would be sworn in as the president and vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021.

Washington: US President-elect Joe Biden has said that he would be honoured to be serving with Kamala Harris, who scripted history by becoming the first woman and first daughter of immigrants ever elected to national office in this country.

“I will be honoured to be serving with a fantastic vice president — Kamala Harris — who will make history as the first woman, first Black woman, first woman of South Asian descent, and first daughter of immigrants ever elected to national office in this country,” Biden said in his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday night.

“It’s long overdue, and we’re reminded tonight of all those who fought so hard for so many years to make this happen. But once again, America has bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice,” he said.

“Kamala, Doug — like it or not — you’re family. You’ve become honorary Bidens and there’s no way out,” he said.

Biden, 77, and Harris, 56, would be sworn in as the president and vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021.

Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father from Jamaica, thanked Biden for selecting her as his running mate.

“What a testament it is to Joe’s character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country and select a woman as his Vice President,” she said.

“But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said.

Biden, she said, is a healer, a uniter and a tested and steady hand. “A person whose own experience of loss gives him a sense of purpose that will help us, as a nation, reclaim our own sense of purpose. And a man with a big heart who loves with abandon,” she said.

“We are so grateful to Joe and Jill for welcoming our family into theirs on this incredible journey,” Harris added.

She will be the first-ever Indian-origin vice president, first-ever black and first-ever African-American vice president of the US.