Biden under increasing pressure to choose minority running mate amid 'you ain't black' backlash
Black activists are warning Joe Biden not to pick Sen. Amy Klobuchar as his running mate; Fox News contributor Byron York reacts.
Presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is facing even more pressure to pick a woman of color as his running mate after his gaffe about black Trump supporters, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York said Monday.
“He has already said that he’s guaranteed to choose a woman,” the Fox News contributor told “America’s Newsroom.” “And he’s under increasing pressure now for it to be a woman of color.”
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York said Biden was “already under pressure” before making the gaffe last week in an interview with Charlamagne tha God.
“We’ve heard about Kamala Harris, we’ve heard about Stacey Abrams, we’ve heard about Val Demings and he said they are all on his list right now,” York said.
Biden made controversial comments in an interview Friday morning with “The Breakfast Club,” After host Charlamagne tha God said he had "more questions" for him before November, Biden defended his record with issues affecting black Americans.
“I tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” he said.
Biden walked back the remarks later the same day, saying: “I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
"I shouldn't have been such a wise guy ... No one should have to vote for any party, based on their race or religion or background," he said.
But the remarks drew swift criticism from across the political spectrum, in particular from the Trump campaign, which sought to highlight the remarks.
York said that “it is not good” for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that a Politico report revealed that "black activists" warned Biden about her record with African-Americans. The report noted that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., - another on Biden's shortlist - does not face such concerns.
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York said the issues stem from Klobuchar's handling of police shootings from her time as a prosecutor. Overall, York said Biden cannot afford to "alienate" any portion of the minority community if he hopes to win in November.
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