Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of contention to be former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate against President Trump.
Klobuchar (D-MN) announced her decision on Thursday in an interview on MSNBC. The lawmaker and failed presidential candidate said she was stepping back because Biden should pick a “woman of color” to run with him.
“I’ve never commented on this process at all, but let me tell you this after what I’ve seen in my state, what I’ve seen across the country,” Klobuchar said.
“This is a historic moment, and America must seize on this moment, and I truly believe – as I actually told the vice president last night when I called him – that I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket,” she continued. “There are so many incredibly qualified women, but if you want to heal this nation right now – my party, yes, but our nation – this is sure a hell of a way to do it.”
BREAKING: Sen. Klobuchar announces she is withdrawing from consideration to be Joe Biden's vice presidential choice: "I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket." pic.twitter.com/xk4zZIP7Yd
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 19, 2020
Klobuchar’s stock as a vice president has fallen in recent week as civil unrest has grown in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in police custody on May 25. Floyd, a black man, died after a Minneapolis police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The unrest has consequently created pressure on the Biden campaign to choose a black running mate. He had already pledged to pick a woman.
The Minnesota senator’s stock took another dive after her record as the Hennepin County district attorney came under scrutiny in the wake of Floyd’s death. Klobuchar was forced to correct multiple reports that she had “declined” to prosecute the now-fired Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin for a 2006 incident that took place while she was DA.
“I never declined [Chauvin’s] case,” Klobuchar said in a May 29 interview with MSNBC. “It was handled and sent to the grand jury. When I was county attorney, cases we had involving officer-involved shootings went to a grand jury. I think that was wrong, now. It would have been much better if I took responsibility and looked at cases and made a decision myself.”
The betting market on Bookies.com has placed Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), and former national security adviser Susan Rice as the top three candidates most likely to be tapped as Biden’s vice president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is fourth.
Biden has distanced himself from some of the grassroots movements that are pushing his campaign to pick a black person as his vice president. The former vice president has stated that he does not support defunding the police. Harris, on the other hand, has defended the movement as a call to redistribute some funds going toward policing into community social work.
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