Former Vice President Joe Biden finally announced his running mate after weeks of speculation. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) will run beside Biden in the general election in November. Biden’s announcement comes less than a week before the Democratic National Convention (DNC) where he will formally accept the party’s nomination.
BREAKING: Joe Biden picks California Sen. Kamala Harris as his VP running mate. https://t.co/kdrUxk2XiK pic.twitter.com/Pck4ACTVvh
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 11, 2020
Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. 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.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 11, 2020
Breaking News: Sen. Kamala Harris of California is Joe Biden’s pick for vice president. A pragmatic moderate, she is the first Black woman on a major party ticket. https://t.co/Ttvh5RyxUB pic.twitter.com/NMcIz60ckH
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 11, 2020
There is no one who knows the importance of a good vice president better than @JoeBiden. He’s made an exceptional choice with @KamalaHarris.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) August 11, 2020
Sen. Harris bested multiple other vice presidential contenders, including Susan Rice, Stacey Abrams, Elizabeth Warren, Keisha Lance-Bottoms, Karen Bass, Gretchen Whitmer and Tammy Duckworth.
.@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.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 11, 2020
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.
While Sen. Harris was viewed as the favorite to be Biden’s running mate, his pick is ultimately puzzling given that Sen. Harris deemed Biden’s record on race problematic:
Sen. Harris’s elevation to run beside Biden also contradicts the former vice president’s rhetoric on policing. Biden recently came out in favor of “redirecting” funding for law enforcement, and has sprinted to the left on a host of issues including the demonization of police. While attempting to appeal to progressive voters with anti-law enforcement rhetoric, Sen. Harris's own record receives backlash from the far-left block that Biden hopes to appease. During her time as San Francisco's District Attorney, and later as California's Attorney General, Harris embraced an anti-truancy program that threatened parents of children who skipped school with criminal prosecution. Her history of prosecuting people of color disproportionately, and fighting wrongful convictions, also stained her run for the presidency. Framing Harris as a progressive, given her problematic prosecutorial record, is seen as an uphill battle for Biden as he hopes to court far-left voters. Sen. Harris received criticism for her prosecution record during her run for president:FLASHBACK: Rep. @TulsiGabbard hammered Joe Biden’s now-VP pick, Kamala Harris, on her record as a prosecutor.pic.twitter.com/7eZE6v6ZHW
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 11, 2020
While Sen. Harris is viewed as not progressive enough by the far-left, her voting record in the upper chamber and stances taken while running for president indicate otherwise. Sen. Harris supported Medicare for All, once endorsing the elimination of private health insurance all together. She also supports the Green New Deal, which would overhaul the American energy sector and eliminate millions of jobs.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and President Trump say that Biden's selection of Sen. Harris indicates his shift to the left:
A hiding, diminished, & incoherent Biden didn’t just select a VP candidate, he chose the person who will actually be in charge if he were somehow able to win.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) August 11, 2020
Harris’ radical policies may be popular among liberals, but they are well outside the mainstream for most Americans.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 11, 2020
Biden and Harris are set to make a joint appearance tomorrow.