Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi Make History as 1st Women Behind a President at Joint Address
The Congress' stage for President Joe Biden's presidential address became brighter as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made history as the first women to share the stage in a presidential address.
At the very opening of his address, Biden noted the historical development. Biden immediately greeted the two women standing behind him with "Madam Vice President" and "Madam Speaker" after taking the podium.
Biden then declared that no president has ever said those words and emphasized that "it's about time." He then delivered his first primetime speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night backed by Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, who are both Democrats from California.
Historic Night for Women
According to Associated Press, the two high-ranking women officials started the night with another historical moment, an elbow bump, which is a pandemic version of the traditional handshake.
The Vice President and the House Speaker stood side by side behind the podium in the House chamber and waved to lawmakers from time to time, waiting for the president's arrival.
In an MSNBC interview hours before Biden's speech, Pelosi shared that she was pretty excited about making history, and for her, it's also about time.
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Not New to Nancy Pelosi
The House Speaker already knew what it feels like to sit on the House chamber's rostrum and introduce a president for their speeches. Pelosi also sat there for a number of addresses by former presidents like George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.
Women's advocates noted that witnessing Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi seated together behind Biden was a wonderful moment. However, they added that electing a woman to sit in the Oval Office remains to be achieved and the addition of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.
Biden has helped usher the moment by pledging to pick a woman for his running mate, selecting Harris, who is then a Senator from California.
The President of the National Organization for Women, Christian Nunes, noted that this is a great start, adding that "we have to continue to move forward" in giving women their equal due.
Nancy Pelosi also set another historic moment after becoming the first female House speaker during the presidency of Republican Bush, who acknowledged the moment by noting in his presidential address to Congress after the election that he had the privilege of being the first president to open with the words "madam speaker."
The 81-year-old lawmaker reclaimed the powerful leadership post during the term of former President Donald Trump. While the 56-year-old Kamala Harris made history last year when she became the first woman and first Black and Indian American person elected as Vice President, NPR reported.
Aside from the historic moment during the speech on Wednesday, Harris and Pelosi also have notched another first in U.S. and women's history.
Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi are the first and second, respectively, in the line of presidential succession.
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WATCH: 'It's About Time': Biden Acknowledges Historic Nature of Vice President Harris and Speaker Pelosi - From NBC News