Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden held their first joint event since Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her to replace him as the Democratic nominee.
Appearing at Prince George’s County Community College, Biden praised Harris, saying she would make “a great president,” ABC News reported.
The incident came as Republican candidate Donald Trump addressed a press conference in New Jersey – his second campaign event in the last two days.
On Thursday, Democrats gathered to celebrate a major milestone for the Biden administration: a newly announced agreement aimed at lowering the cost of 10 widely used prescription drugs. The move is expected to provide financial relief to millions of Americans, solving one of the country’s biggest healthcare challenges.
About 2,300 people attended Thursday’s event in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the White House said.
President Biden cheered on his vice president during the event, causing the crowd to stand up several times. The sentiment was shared on both sides.
“There’s a lot of love in this room for our president,” Harris said, adding, “Few leaders in our country have done more than Joe Biden on so many issues, including expanding access to affordable health care.”
Earlier, the White House announced that Medicare had reached an agreement with drug manufacturers to reduce prices on all 10 drugs selected in the first round of negotiations.
“This is a relief for the millions of seniors who take these medications to treat heart attacks, blood clots, diabetes, arthritis, Crohn’s disease and more — and it’s a relief for American taxpayers, too,” Biden said in a statement.
The Biden administration’s drug pricing talks are targeting 10 high-cost drugs, including Eliquis, Jardiance and Stelara.
These reduced prices, effective in 2026, could save taxpayers $6 billion and Medicare Part D enrollees $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimate that price reductions would range from 38% to 79%.
The president said he could get Americans to buy the same drugs at a much lower cost than they would be “totally unaffordable” in the US by going to Canada or France.
“Kamala and I both understand that. We know this isn’t just about health care — it’s about your dignity,” the president said, adding that he believes health care “should be a right in America, not a privilege.”