Read it & veep
Joe tells Bern: I’m movin’ on, forming ticket
Joe Biden says he’s informed Bernie Sanders that he is moving ahead with a plan to vet potential vice presidential candidates — effectively shrugging off his rival’s refusal to admit defeat.
The Democratic front-runner told donors at a virtual fund-raising event on Friday evening that he is putting together a committee to handle the veepstakes and weigh candidates for high-profile cabinet posts.
“You have to start now deciding who you’re going to have background checks done on as potential vice presidential candidates and it takes time,” Biden said, according to a pool report.
Calling Sanders a “competitor” and a “friend,” Biden suggested that he reached out to the insurgent progressive candidate as a courtesy.
“I actually had this discussion with Bernie,” Biden told the supporters. “I don’t want him to think I’m being presumptuous.”
The conversation would mark the first time that Biden and Sanders have spoken oneon-one since the race dramatically narrowed in March and the coronavirus crisis mostly brought the voting to a screeching halt.
Biden and Sanders are still scheduled to clash in the Wisconsin primary this Tuesday, although the controversial vote may still be delayed over the pandemic. Biden demolished Sanders in the most recent string of votes on March 17 before states started putting off their elections.
Although Biden sought to put a cordial spin on it, the announcement amounts to a significant snub of Sanders, who has shown no sign of quitting the race despite falling behind by what analysts call an almost insurmountable margin.
Sanders says he still wants to debate Biden in April and still sees a “narrow path” for him to win the nomination. Biden has brushed off the idea of another debate and says he wants to “get on with” unifying the party for the general election in November.
Biden, who is holed up at home in Delaware, is training most of his fire at President Trump over his bungling of the national response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden has already committed to picking a woman as his running mate, although some pundits say Gov. Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus crisis could make him reconsider.
Among the top candidates are Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen.
Amy Klobuchar and Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her race for Georgia governor in 2018.
The veepstakes is even more crucial than usual because Biden would be the oldest candidate ever elected president, and might be unlikely to run for a second term.
The former vice president also revealed that he has reached out to his former boss, President Barack Obama, about the process of picking a running mate, although Biden was careful to point out that he has not yet asked for advice about specific candidates.
Biden said the decision to delay the Democratic National Convention till mid-August means he has a bit more time to weigh his options.
“Now the convention’s been moved back now another month so there’s more time now,” he said.