Lasun Alagbe
Former US Vice President and presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has applauded Democratic Party candidate’s Joe Biden’s decision to pick Kamala Harris as his ruling mate.
Biden announced the choice on Tuesday, picking the legal giant and administrator above several other likely candidates that include former Security Adviser, Susan Rice.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Kamala Harris to a historic Democratic ticket. She’s already proven herself to be an incredible public servant and leader. And I know she’ll be a strong partner to Joe Biden. Please join me in having her back and getting her elected,” Clinton enthused in a Facebook post.
Speaking on the reason for his decision, Biden said:
“I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead. Kamala is that person,” Biden announced in a statement Tuesday.
“I need someone who understands the pain that so many people in our nation are suffering. Whether they’ve lost their job, their business, a loved one to this virus. This president says he “doesn’t want to be distracted by it”. He doesn’t understand that taking care of the people of this nation — all the people — isn’t a distraction — it’s the job. Kamala understands that.”
“I need someone who understands that we are in a battle for the soul of this nation. And that if we’re going to get through these crises — we need to come together and unite for a better America. Kamala gets that.”
“I first met Kamala through my son Beau. They were both Attorneys General at the same time. He had enormous respect for her and her work. I thought a lot about that as I made this decision. There is no one’s opinion I valued more than Beau’s and I’m proud to have Kamala standing with me on this campaign.”
Yahoo! also reports that during the Democratic primary, Biden had committed to choosing a woman as his running mate. In recent days, Black leaders urged him to pick an African-American woman. Harris’s father, Donald Harris, is a Black native of Jamaica. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India.
Progressives urged Biden to pick Warren, who is further left than he is on most issues. (Harris is considered more moderate than Warren and closer to Biden in ideology.)
Biden and Harris will formally accept the presidential and vice presidential nominations during the Democratic National Convention, which begins next week.
Harris, who lost her own bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, clashed with Biden during the first primary debate by attacking his record on race. She sharply criticized him for his fond recollection of working with segregationist senators in the U.S. Senate and his opposition to federally mandated busing in the 1970s.
“There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public school, and she bused to school every day,” Harris said. “And that little girl was me.”
