Biden Phones in to Harris Event Amid Wacky Claims He’s Dead

President Joe Biden made his first live remarks since dropping out of the presidential race on Monday evening, speaking by phone to a crowd of staffers at campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.

“I know yesterday’s news was surprising and it was hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” Biden said, calling in as he recovers from COVID before Vice President Kamala Harris made the first stop of her presidential campaign.

“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” Biden said. “And by the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be out there in the campaign with her, with Kamala.”

Biden also stressed how important it still is to him to defeat Donald Trump.

“I won’t be on the ticket, but I’m still going to be fully, fully engaged,” he added.

Biden promised he would do anything Harris needed him to do to support her. He remained on the phone as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff introduced his wife.

“I’m watching you, kid,” Biden said as Harris began. “I love you.”

She held her hands to her heart.

The public appearance also served as virtual proof-of-life for Biden, who quickly became the subject of a series of bizarre right-wing conspiracies after his decision to withdraw from the 2024 campaign Sunday afternoon was announced in a written statement—including many who suggested that the president may be incapacitated in some way , or even dead.

“If this were a hostage situation, that letter would not qualify as proof of life,” billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman wrote about Biden Sunday night in a conspiracy-laden thread on X, formerly Twitter.

Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of conservative youth group Turning Point USA, was among those who spread such conspiracy theories, writing on X that a source had told him the Las Vegas police were ordered to close streets so the president could get medical treatment before being asked to stand down.

“Apparently the rumor mill in the police department was that Joe Biden was dying or possibly already dead,” Kirk wrote. “I'm beginning to grow more curious if COVID or something else has been more serious than reported.”

But Biden’s Monday call seemed to confirm Biden was doing just fine as the new Harris campaign projected an image of unity and energy.

After Biden endorsed Harris, numerous Democratic members of Congress, governors, and elder statesmen—including virtually all of her potential rivals—lined up behind her. On Monday, she appeared to have all but locked up the Democratic nomination, bringing hope to a party that had been sagging under the weight of Biden’s stumbles.

“I know it’s been a roller coaster, and we’re all filled with so many mixed emotions about this,” Harris said.

New “Harris for President” signs could already be seen on the walls, along with a California state flag, a little more than 24 hours after Biden ended his run. But Harris affirmed that some things won’t change: Harris announced she was keeping on Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chávez-Rodriguez, and his campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, to lead her organization.

A highlight of her speech came when Harris discussed her background as California attorney general and as a courtroom prosecutor.

“In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” she said, earning cackles. “Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type.”

Harris used her first stop on the campaign trail to promise to build up the middle class, talk up voting rights and gun control, and warn against Project 2025. She also promised that if Congress passes a law to restore reproductive rights, she will sign it.

Read more at The Daily Beast.