ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are offering solace to Asian Americans and a reeling nation as they visit Atlanta just days after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them Asian American women. Biden and Harris addressed the nation after a roughly 80-minute meeting with Asian American state legislators and other leaders. The president says it was “heart-wrenching” to listen to their stories of the fear among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders amid what he called a “skyrocketing spike” of harassment and violence against them. The visit had added resonance with the presence of Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold national office.

Susan Walsh/AP
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris listens as President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, to announce key administration posts. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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