Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris To Be His Running Mate: ‘I’m Proud To Have Her As My Partner’

After months of speculation, former Vice President Joe Biden has announced California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election.

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August 11, 2020 4:26PM EDT
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United States Senator Kamala Harris (Democrat of California) speaks during a television interview at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Credit: Stefani Reynolds / CNP. 24 Jun 2020 Pictured: United States Senator Kamala Harris (Democrat of California) speaks during a television interview at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Credit: Stefani Reynolds / CNP. Photo credit: Stefani Reynolds - CNP / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA683531_004.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]
July 28, 2022 New York, NY, USA - American Vice President Kamala Harris deplanes at New York's LaGuardia Airport.The Vice President is greeted by NYS Lt. Governor, Antonio Delgado. She is in New York City to announce new private and public sector efforts to align tens of billions in investments in underserved communities. This will include the formation of a new Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC) to address economic disparities and accelerate economic opportunity in communities of color and other underserved communities. VP Harris Visits New York City, New York, New York, USA - 28 Jul 2022
US Vice President Kamala Harris (C) during her meeting with Polish and US soldiers at the 1st Airlift Base in Warsaw, Poland, 11 March 2022. The visit of the US vice president is a demonstration of the United States' support for NATO's eastern flank allies in the face of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. US Vice Psocieresident Kamala Harris visits Poland, Warsaw - 11 Mar 2022

UPDATE(8/11/20 6:05pm ET) President Donald Trump was graceless in his reaction to Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s VP pick, complaining that she was tough on his Supreme Court justice pick, Brett Kavanaugh, during his Sept. 2018 Senate confirmation hearing. “I was a little surprised that he (Joe) picked her,” Trump said during a White House COVID-19 briefing. “She was extraordinarily nasty to Judge Kavanaugh…It was just a horrible thing the way she treated, now Justice Kavanaugh & I won’t forget that soon.”

ORIGINAL: Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has selected Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate and potential vice president, should he be elected in November 2020. Harris, 55, is now the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party. Biden announced his decision on Twitter, writing, “I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate.”

“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau,” he continued. “I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.” Harris released a statement of her own on Twitter soon after, writing, “@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals. I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.”

 

Harris, the former Attorney General of California and its current Democratic Senator, is only the fourth woman to be on the ballot for a national office by a major party, following Geraldine Ferrarro, Sarah Palin, and Hillary Clinton. Biden has embraced a former rival, who battled him fiercely at the early Democratic debates and criticized him in the primaries. She famously went for the jugular at their very first debate, calling him out for his past opposition of busing as a way to help integrate public schools. Harris revealed that she was one of the children who rode those buses. After ending her own presidential campaign in December 2019, though, she came out as one of Biden’s strongest supporters in his fight against Donald Trump.

Biden announced at the March 2020 primary debate against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders that he was committed to choosing a woman as his running mate. There were a number of remarkable women reportedly interviewed to be on the “short list,” the subject of much speculation in the following months. Klobuchar bowed out in June. The Minnesota senator said that she believed Biden should pick a woman of color as his running mate, saying in an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell:

“There are so many incredible, qualified women… this is a historic moment. America must seize on the moment and I truly believe… that this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket,” the senator said. A number of female politicians were asked prior to his decision whether they’d accept a potential invitation to join the ticket, and they all overwhelmingly said yes. Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin said on The View in June that she’d love to make history as the first openly gay vice president in United States history.

Kamala Harris
Senator Kamala Harris was selected as Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election (Stefani Reynolds – CNP / MEGA)

Biden’s announcement comes just one week before the Democratic National Convention, which will be held virtually on August 17 through August 20. If you haven’t registered to vote yet, there’s still time to change that before the general election. You can register here on HollywoodLife by filling out the form below, courtesy of Rock The Vote: