New details have emerged regarding the selection process for the Vice President during Joe Biden‘s presidential run. A report claims that Biden originally had his eye on Gretchen Whitmer as his running mate. However, he “had to choose” Kamala Harris.
Joe Biden reportedly ‘had to choose’ Kamala Harris as Vice President
According to The Atlantic, Joe Biden originally wanted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be his Vice President. However, the former President “had to choose” Kamala Harris for the position.
The report, which took a closer look at Whitmer, claimed that Biden chose her to be his running mate, especially after she clashed with Donald Trump. The article claimed that Biden “wanted it to be Whitmer.” But he ultimately chose Harris amid the Black Lives Matter protests.
According to the article, “All of this attention seemed like it might add up to something, and by summer 2020, Whitmer was being vetted for vice president.” Sources at the time said Whitmer was unsure about the position at first. “She struggled to imagine herself as a creature of Washington, D.C,” the article says.
Whitmer reportedly built a strong rapport with Biden, and when he had asked her to come to Delaware for a face-to-face meeting, the Michigan Gov. was ready to accept the role. However, Biden did not extend the offer to her and “had to choose” Harris instead.
The Atlantic further reported that a former senior Whitmer staffer offered insight into Biden’s decision and how “the moment called for a Black running mate.” The staff said that the former President wanted it to be Whitmer instead. The report further noted that according to a former adviser to both Biden and Harris, the assessment carried “some weight.”
Despite not being selected, Whitmer “never wavered in her support” for Biden and “campaigned happily for the ticket.” In a 2020 interview with Fox2, Whitmer confirmed, “If Joe Biden had called and said, ‘I need you to be my partner and be my running mate,’ I would have said yes.”
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh for Mandatory.
