Biden is lauding Kamala Harris, saying his VP 'could be president of the United States'

• Joe Biden is singing the praises of Kamala Harris as calls for him to step aside grow.
• "She's not only a great vice president, she could be president of the United States," he said.
• Biden has maintained that he plans to stay in the 2024 race.

President Joe Biden is heaping praise on Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she "could be the president of the United States."

Speaking at an NAACP event, he started by slamming former President Donald Trump for his claim during the presidential debate last month that immigrants are "taking Black jobs."

"I know what a Black job is. It's the vice president of the United States," he said.

"Folks, because of you, I am president and Kamala Harris is vice president," he said before adding: "And by the way, she's not only a great vice president, she could be president of the United States."

This appeared to be a more articulate version of his praise for Harris at a press conference on Thursday, during which he mixed up Harris' and Trump's names .

"Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn't think she was not qualified to be vice president," Biden said during the press conference.

To be sure, Biden has maintained that he does not intend to drop out of the race amid mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers, donors , and political commentators to step aside in favor of another candidate.

In a recorded interview on Friday, Complex Networks' Speedy Morman asked Biden whether he was committed to continuing in the race.

Biden responded: "Unless I get hit by a train, yeah."

He's marching on despite at least 18 House Democrats and one Democratic senator calling on him to quit.

In a letter to House Democrats on July 8, he said: "I wouldn't be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024."

An Ipsos poll of registered voters conducted for ABC News and The Washington Post between July 5 and 9 found that if Harris ran for the top job instead of Biden, she would have a 2-percentage-point edge over Trump.

The poll surveyed 2,431 adults and found Harris had a lead over Trump of 49% to 47% among the registered voters surveyed.

In contrast, RealClearPolitics' polling averages indicate that Biden trails Trump in six key swing states.

Biden's campaign manager has said that if Biden quits, most of his campaign's sizable war chest will go to Harris.

While Harris has backed Biden, she's appeared increasingly presidential after the debate.

For instance, on the same day that Biden held a press conference following the NATO summit, Harris put on her own show on the campaign trail in North Carolina.

Her staff also changed her schedule after the June CNN debate, having her appear beside Biden for the Fourth of July fireworks and a picnic at the White House, something she had not done before, per The New York Times .

Representatives for the Biden-Harris campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Correction: July 17, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated when an Ipsos poll took place. It was conducted between July 5 and 9, not on July 11.