Floyd’s death puts focus on Klobuchar’s record

Amy Klobuchar has long been seen as a top contender to be Joe Biden’s running mate, albeit with a glaring liability: her weak standing with black voters, a core Democratic constituency.

That vulnerability became even more acute this week after George Floyd, an African American man, died after being pinned to the ground by police in Klobuchar’s home county. The death highlighted once again her record as a prosecutor and sharpened questions of whether the Minnesota senator would be the best choice in this moment of national racial anguish.

“She would be the absolute worst pick at this point,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the group Black Voters Matter, adding, “In light of what is happening now, it would be an absolute slap in the face of black folks. And the party will pay dearly for that.”

Floyd was videotaped as he gasped for air while handcuffed on the ground with a Minneapolis policeman pressing his knee into his neck for about eight minutes as three other officers looked on. His death Monday sparked days of destructive protests locally and across the country. Activists describe a black community at a breaking point, frayed by the recent high-profile police killings and violence and threats from white Americans captured on video, as well as bearing the disproportionate brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If George Floyd’s death has any legacy — because he will never be brought back — it should be systematic change to our criminal justice system,” Klobuchar said in an MSNBC interview Friday.

She demurred when asked whether she should withdraw from consideration for vice president, calling it “Joe Biden’s decision.”

In an interview Friday on MSNBC, Biden dodged a question about whether Klobuchar’s record disqualified her as a vice presidential pick. “What we’re talking about today has nothing to do with my running for president or who I pick as vice president, it has to do with an injustice we all saw take place,” Biden said.

U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, one of the most influential voices in the Democratic Party, told reporters that Klobuchar’s chances probably had diminished in light of the upheaval in Minnesota.

“This is very tough timing for Amy Klobuchar, who I respect so much,” he said. “The timing is tough.”

Some of Klobuchar’s backers see her as an unfair target for anger over the killing.

“She had nothing to do with that officer putting his knee on this young man’s throat and killing him,” said Cordelia Lewis Burks, a longtime African American political activist and current vice chairwoman of the Indiana Democratic Party.