Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate
Harris winning the bid for vice presidential candidacy capped a long process of which the result was previously expected in the first week of August.
Biden, who has promised to name a female running mate, postponed the announcement as the contest became increasingly more fluid than observers had thought, with Suzan Rice, former national security adviser in the administration of former president Barack Obama, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer seemingly gaining momentum in the final days leading up to the announcement.
Those who vied for the post with Harris quickly reacted to Biden’s decision and supported his pick.
Rice said
Harris “is a tenacious and trailblazing leader.”
Whitmer said she was “extraordinarily proud to support” Harris and Biden. Elizabeth Warren, once a Democratic presidential candidate on the progressive camp who endorsed Biden after dropping out, tweeted that Harris “will be a great partner to @JoeBiden in making our government a powerful force for good in the fight for social, racial, and economic justice.”
Other prominent Democrats also voiced their support for Harris. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the senator “will continue her legacy of trailblazing leadership to move our nation forward.” Obama said Harris “is more than prepared for the job.” Former President Bill Clinton said she and Biden “make a strong team.” Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, called on supporters to join her in getting Harris elected.
In his first public comment during a news briefing at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump said
Harris was “my number one draft pick, and we’ll see how she works out.”
He said Harris “was extraordinarily nasty to Judge (Brett) Kavanaugh” — the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justice who was alleged of sexual misconduct — during Senate hearings, adding that “she did very poorly in the primaries and now she’s chosen so let’s see how that all works out.”
Hours earlier, Trump campaign senior adviser Katrina Pierson in a statement accused Harris of attempting to “bury her record as a prosecutor, in order to appease the anti-police extremists,” meanwhile claiming that the selection of Harris “is proof that Joe Biden is an empty shell being filled with the extreme agenda of the radicals on the left.”
Source: Xinhua