What were Biden’s words on his meeting with Kamala Harris?
At their first rally together since Biden stepped down as the Democratic candidate for president he said Harris will be “one hell of a president.”
Days before the Democratic National Convention is set to kick off in Chicago, Illinois, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held their first event together since Biden dropped out of the race and put his full support behind Harris. The rally which took place in Upper Marlboro, Maryland was to extoll the achievements of the Biden-Harris administration, specifically in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors.
“I could speak all afternoon about the person that I’m standing on the stage with, our extraordinary president, Joe Biden,” Harris said speaking first. She praised his many accomplishments including the expansion of affordable health care and said that now the party would be taking the next step forward in the fight. At that the crowd broke out chanting “Thank you Joe!”
Biden says Harris will be “one hell of a president”
When it was Biden’s turn to speak, he returned the praise saying of Harris, “Folks, I have an incredible partner, the progress we’ve made. She’s going to make one hell of a president.”
He went on to talk about how his administration passed legislation to cap the price of insulin at $35 and annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will now be capped at $2,000 for seniors.
However, he said his administration isn’t done with just lowering those costs for seniors. Biden said that when Harris is president, the work will continue to pass those savings to all Americans.
“Kamala and I both get it. We know it is not just about health care, it is about your dignity,” he told the crowd of some 2,300 people at Prince George’s County Community College. “It’s about peace of mind. It’s about security. It’s about taking care of your family. It’s about giving folks just a little bit more breathing room. That’s all. Look, I believe health care should be a right and not a privilege in America.”
During his speech he also touted the administration’s passing legislation which removed the ban on Medicare negotiating directly with pharmaceutical companies on drug prices. He also gave an update on the first round of negotiations announcing that agreements have been reached with all the pharmaceutical manufacturers on the first ten drugs.
“New prices are expected to save millions of seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in the first year of the program alone,” stated a White House press release.