Kamala Harris to speak at first event since announcing her run for president

Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first public appearance since announcing her run for president on Sunday.

The vice president is scheduled to speak Monday at a White House event celebrating NCAA championship teams. She is filling in for President Joe Biden, who is in Delaware recovering from COVID-19. The event marks her first at a public event since participating in a campaign event last Thursday in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

While previously scheduled, the NCAA event now comes after President Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race Sunday night and subsequently endorsed Harris.

Harris then spoke out in a statement, saying, “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”

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Harris had continued to back President Biden despite calls from dozens of elected Democrats for him to abandon the race for president. In her statement, Harris called the president’s move to step aside a “selfless and “patriotic act.”

“President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else,” she said.

Speaking about potentially leading the Democratic ticket, Harris said she would do everything in her power to make sure former President Donald Trump does not win in November.

"Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead," she said.