Biden to start vetting running mates; list includes 6-7 women

Democratic presidential front runner Joe Biden at a news conference on March 12. He said on Sunday that he has discussed his list of running mates with former president Barack Obama. PHOTO: NYTIMES
Democratic presidential front runner Joe Biden at a news conference on March 12. He said on Sunday that he has discussed his list of running mates with former president Barack Obama. PHOTO: NYTIMES

WASHINGTON • Democratic presidential front runner Joe Biden has said that he needed to start vetting possible running mates "in a matter of weeks" and that he discussed the picks with former president Barack Obama.

Mr Biden's vice-presidential options will include at least six or seven women who will undergo background checks to ensure there will not "be any snafu", he told donors at a fundraising event held by telephone on Sunday.

"I have to start that vetting process relatively soon, meaning in a matter of weeks," he said.

"I think there will be a group that is in excess of six or seven people who I'll look at."

Mr Biden said at a Democratic debate last week that he would pick a woman for the job, a qualification he reiterated on Sunday.

He also emphasised that the woman would have to agree with his fundamental view on policies, including healthcare, education and the need for expansive US influence in the world.

Mr Biden said he shared that kind of common ground with Mr Obama - whom he served as vice-president - although they sometimes differed on tactics.

Above all, the person would need to be qualified to serve as president immediately. "I've actually talked to Barack about this - the most important thing is that it has to be someone who, the day after they're picked, is prepared to be president of the United States of America if something happened," said the 77-year-old former vice-president.

Mr Biden has a strong lead over Senator Bernie Sanders, his lone rival for the party's nomination to face President Donald Trump in November's election.

Sidelined from campaigning in public because of the coronavirus crisis that has put nearly one in three Americans under orders to stay at home, Mr Biden was to start broadcasting yesterday morning from his home in Delaware.

Those briefings will give Mr Biden a way to offer an alternative to the daily news conferences on the coronavirus held by Mr Trump, whose disaster response the Democratic candidate has criticised.

Mr Biden added that the election should move forward as scheduled amid concerns that the coronavirus pandemic may not be fully contained by November. A number of states have already pushed back presidential nominating contests because of the outbreak.

"I know there's a lot of rumours and speculation as to, is the other guy going to try to postpone the election in November and all that. There's no need to do that," Mr Biden said. "You know, we voted in the middle of the Civil War, we voted in the middle of World Wars I and II.

"The idea of postponing the electoral process seems to me out of the question."

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 24, 2020, with the headline Biden to start vetting running mates; list includes 6-7 women. Subscribe