TSR Politics: More than 100 influential black men, including Diddy and Charlamagne, have signed an open letter to Joe Biden urging him to pick a Black woman as his vice president.
The message of the letter was strong: “Failing to select a Black woman in 2020 means you will lose the election.” The signers of the letter include Diddy, Charlemagne, Benjamin Crump, Timbaland, Ty Dolla $ign and Akon among other Black leaders across several industries.
Biden is expected to formally announce his choice for VP this week, ahead of the Democratic National Convention, after months of speculation and the vetting of several candidates by his team, CNN reports.
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“For too long Black women have been asked to do everything from rally the troops to risk their lives for the Democratic Party with no acknowledgment, no respect, no visibility, and certainly not enough support,” the letter reads. The letter says the Black women who are under consideration to be Biden’s running mate have been “unfairly criticized and scrutinized,” using California Sen. Kamala Harris as an example.
“Was Joe Biden ever labeled ‘too ambitious’ because he ran for president three times? Should President Obama not have made him the VP because he had to worry about his ‘loyalty’ when he clearly had AMBITIONS to be president himself? Why does Senator Kamala Harris have to show remorse for questioning Biden’s previous stance on integrated busing during a democratic primary debate?” the letter reads.
Kamala is rumored to be a front runner even though she delivered a pointed attack against Biden over his decades-old fight against busing to desegregate schools at a Democratic primary debate in June 2019.
Biden said in July that among all of the contenders to be his vice president, he was considering four Black women to be his running mate.
Other women are also under consideration for the role including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitme.
Two Democrats familiar with the search told CNN last week that Whitmer, who is White, remains a serious contender.
Biden is also believed to be considering Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is Asian American, people familiar with the search say.
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