By Dartunorro Clark
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told MSNBC on Monday that he has four Black women on his shortlist for vice president — putting him closer to selecting a running mate a month before he accepts the party’s nomination.
Biden told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on the premiere of her prime time show “The ReidOut,” however, that he is not committed to a Black definitely being his-running mate.
If elected, Biden, 77, would be the oldest-ever president-elect, which has put an intense focus on his pick for running mate. Biden has spoken often of seeing himself as a transitional presidential, leading many politics-watchers to believe that his running mate could eventually be the leader of the Democratic Party and, if Biden won in 2020, the likely Democratic nominee in 2024.
He said that it will take roughly six weeks to complete the vetting and his campaign is doing a “detailed analysis” of contenders to narrow down the list before next month’s nearly all-virtual convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“Black women have supported me my whole career,” Biden said. “I have been loyal and they have been loyal to me — and so it’s important that my administration, I promise you, will look like America.”
He added, “Both from vice president to Supreme Court to cabinet positions to every major position in the White House. It’s critically important that be the case.”
This article originally appeared on CNBC.
