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In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, Vice President Kamala Harris said she fully expects President Biden to run for re-election and said she intends to be his running mate again.
Asked about Democrats who fret behind the scenes about both Biden and Harris being on the ticket, the vice president responded: “Joe Biden … has said he intends to run for re-election as president and I intend to run with him as vice president of the United States.”
Harris dismissed such talk as Washington “chatter.”
“I think that it is very important to focus on the needs of the American people and not political chatter out of Washington, D.C.,” she said.
In the interview, conducted at the international Munich Security Conference in Germany, Harris was asked about comments made by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her campaign for president earlier this week.
Haley, who called for “a new generation” of leaders, didn’t directly mention Biden or former President Donald Trump, both of whom are over the age of 75. But Harris said the message came through.
“I think that is very coded language,” Harris told Mitchell.
“What I know from traveling our country is that the American people want leaders who will see what’s going on in their lives and create solution.”
“In Joe Biden, we have a president who is probably one of the oldest and strongest American presidents we have had in his response to the needs of the American people,” Harris continued.
Harris also touched on Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., who is widely expected to run for president in 2024.
Responding to a question about DeSantis’ push to change how Black history is taught, Harris shot back: “Any push to censor America’s teachers and tell them what they should be teaching in the best interest of our children … is, I think, wrongheaded.”
She added, “The people who know our children, are their parents and their teachers … and it should not be some politician saying what should be taught in our classrooms.”