Stacey Abrams Pours Cold Water On Those Joe Biden-Vice President Rumors

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams took to the airwaves of The View to quash the rumors that she might be prepared to sign on as former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate during the primary season, should he enter the race. According to a report in Splinter, Abrams, the Democratic firebrand who delivered a searing response to President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address after narrowly losing her run for governor of Georgia, told the hosts of The View that she wanted to put the kibosh on rumors that she might sign up to be a running mate for any candidate who had not yet won the party’s nomination. She even suggested that if she were to be involved in a primary race, she would be the one at the top of the ticket.

“If I’m going to enter a primary, I’m going to enter a primary,” Abrams said. “My responsibility is to take seriously the opportunity to give credibility to those who are asking me, but to make sure I’m the right person, this is the right time, and it’s the right job.”

After the studio erupted in applause, Abrams went on to explain that she’s weighing the relative benefits of a number of options for her next career move, including another potential run for governor, or for a seat in the U.S. Senate, or even potentially the White House. She further clarified, saying that while she is “open to all options,” running in a primary as someone’s second banana is a whole other ball of wax than considering being a vice presidential candidate for the Democrat Party’s nominee and that the latter is still on the table.

“Running in a primary to be vice president is very different than someone who has been selected by the party to be the nominee asking you to serve as a partner.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Abrams appeared on CBS This Morning and said that she believes that a woman or a minority candidate will win the Democratic primary and be the party’s candidate come 2020. She added that she hopes the nation can “start evolving what the face of leadership looks like.”

For his part, Biden’s camp made an effort last week to dismiss the rumors that they were considering a “pre-cooked ticket” involving Abrams or another potential vice presidential candidate during the primaries, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Also during Abrams’ appearance on The View, the ongoing controversy over Biden’s participation in the Anita Hill hearing when he was a senator, and whether he has fully addressed his role in the humiliating treatment many believe Hill received there. Abrams prefaced by calling Biden a “lovely man” who has served his country well but added that his recently reiterated regrets may not be enough.

“Whether we think he has taken sufficient responsibility will be determined as the process continues, but I think he’s begun the process appropriately by saying, ‘I know there’s pain, and I want to respond to that pain,'” Abrams said.