When the Rev. AI Sharpton’s phone rang Sunday night, on the line was Vice President Kamala Harris, who just hours prior had received the most consequential phone call of her political career.
In Sharpton’s telling, the vice president sounded perhaps almost taken aback by the events of the past day. “I had no idea it was going to happen,” Harris said, according to Sharpton, who spoke with CNN Monday.
But Harris was also emphatic and upbeat as she made clear to the civil rights activist about her new campaign for the presidency: I’m going to go all-in.
The tenor and contents of that conversation between Sharpton and Harris could not have been in starker contrast from their previous chat at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture earlier in the month. As President Joe Biden was hanging on for his political life, fielding growing calls from Democrats to drop out of the 2024 race, Harris had pleaded with Sharpton to stick with the president.
She was, Sharpton said, emphatically loyal, imploring the reverend to continue to have Biden’s back and not join the chorus demanding Biden ditch his campaign.
“She kept telling me – stay with Joe,” Sharpton recalled.
Harris’ brief conversation with Sharpton late Sunday, lasting all about a handful of minutes, was one of dozens upon dozens of calls that the vice president made in the immediate hours after learning of Biden’s decision to drop out as she is looks to quickly coalesce the party behind her.
Biden has officially endorsed Harris and handed off the reins of his reelection campaign to the vice president. Harris will visit Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday afternoon to meet with staff at the office that until Sunday had been the Biden-Harris campaign headquarters.
“One day down. 105 to go,” Harris said on X. “Together, we’re going to win this.”
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