Harris appears with Biden for first time since election defeat

WASHINGTON

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made their first joint appearance since her election loss when they observed Veterans Day together by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 11.

The event was also the first time Harris has been seen in public since her speech on Nov. 6 in which she conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump.

Earlier Monday Biden hosted veterans at the White House to mark the holiday before heading to Arlington, the final resting place of two presidents, five-star generals, and some 400,000 veterans of major US conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War.

At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Biden and Harris placed their hands on their hearts before participating in a wreath laying.

"This is the last time I will stand here at Arlington as commander-in-chief," the president said in an address. "It's been the greatest honor of my life to lead you, to serve you, to care for you, to defend you — just as you defended us, generation after generation after generation."

Biden spoke of his visits to veterans cemeteries in Europe, adding he would never forget "standing in the cliffs of Normandy, 80 years after D-Day, to honor the servicemembers and veterans who literally saved the world."

Afterwards as "God Bless America" played, Biden dabbed both eyes with a handkerchief.

The ceremony came shortly before Biden hosts Trump at the White House on Wednesday.