Joe Biden has shifted into a general election strategy, working to come up with a pool of potential vice president candidates and even seeking the advice of his former president President Obama.
As the New York Post reported, the former vice president told supporters during a phone call on Sunday night that he was selecting a pool “in excess of six or seven people” from whom he would be picking a running mate. Biden said that his process of pondering the choices will start relatively soon, adding that he had spoken to Barack Obama about the candidates.
Biden said he wanted to model his own winning vice presidential ticket, finding someone who can work with him as well as he did with Obama.
“The reason why it worked for [President] Barack [Obama] and me so well is we agreed substantively on every major issue. We disagreed on some tactical ways to approach the issues,” Biden told supporters. “So it’s going to be important that whomever I pick is completely comfortable with my policy prescriptions as to how we move forward. Doesn’t mean I don’t want, as Barack asked for, someone questioning me, challenging me, I do want that.”
Biden became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee with a much larger than expected win in the South Carolina primary followed by a series of upsets on Super Tuesday. Since then, Biden has come close to sweeping the other major primaries and now has a lead over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders that many see as insurmountable.
Sanders has yet to drop out of the race, but Biden has turned his attention away from his Democratic rival, not mentioning Sanders in recent messaging and going off the campaign trail as COVID-19 has shifted him away from holding any public events.
There have been many rumors about who Biden could be pick as a running mate, with many focusing on former Democratic primary opponent Kamala Harris . In the last presidential debate, Biden committed to picking a woman, and had previously revealed some of the potential choices at a town hall event last year.
As he begins to ponder vice presidential picks, Biden has also shifted delivering messages to an audience of general election voters rather than speaking specifically to Democrats. As The Inquisitr reported, he is set to begin holding regular briefings on the coronavirus pandemic, delivering a contrast from Donald Trump’s much-criticized daily briefings.
