The Times - UK (2020-08-01)

40 2GM Saturday August 1 2020 | the times

Wo r l d

Joe Biden will name the woman he
wants as his running-mate within days
amid signs that he is struggling to find
the ideal candidate and a backlash
against the favourite, Kamala Harris.
The choice by Mr Biden, 77, is more
than usually significant because if he
defeats President Trump in November
his age means his vice-president will be
in prime position to succeed him in
2024 or earlier if he steps aside. Ms Har-
ris, 55, a senator from California who
ran against him for the presidential
nomination, is the subject of a cam-
paign by party members who view her
as ambitious and untrustworthy.
Mr Biden has an eight-point lead
over Mr Trump in an average of recent
polls, giving him the luxury of looking
beyond considerations that his run-
ning-mate must deliver a swing state.
He will not, however, want to hand Re-
publicans a way to chip away at his lead.
He said in March that he would
choose a woman but Democrat sources
say he is looking for an almost impossi-
ble combination: someone who will be
as loyal and low-key as he was when
vice-president to Barack Obama while
also regarded as a potential president.
A small group of black women have
emerged who almost meet his require-
ments. There has been pressure from
party grandees close to Mr Biden,
notably Jim Clyburn, 80, the black con-
gressman from South Carolina who
helped him to win the state and revived
his bid for the nomination, for a black
woman to be chosen after the summer
of protest calls for racial justice.
As well as Ms Harris, the other black
women considered frontrunners in-
clude Susan Rice, 55, who served along-
side him as national security adviser;
Karen Bass, 66, chairwoman of the
Congressional Black Caucus seen as a
liberal who bridges the divide with
moderates; Val Demings, 63, a Florida
congresswoman and former Orlando
police chief; and Keisha Lance Bottoms,
50, the mayor of Atlanta, who has risen
to prominence appearing on television
over the street demonstrations. Among

the other names are Tammy Duck-

worth, 52, a disabled army veteran and

senator from Illinois; Elizabeth War-

ren, 71, a left-wing senator from Massa-

chusetts who also ran for the nomina-

tion; Gretchen Whitmer, 48, the gover-

nor of Michigan, a key state; and

Tammy Baldwin, 58, a gay senator from

Wisconsin.

“I hope their vetting is good, because

the heart of the Trump campaign is

gonna be ‘Biden is losing it, he’s 77, and

so this person will be president’,” a

Biden adviser told Politico. Mr Biden

will be 78, making him the oldest presi-

dent to take office, beating Mr Trump,

who was 70. Ronald Reagan was 77

when he left the White House.

Ms Harris’s position as favourite was

confirmed this week when Mr Biden

was photographed with a handwritten

note featuring talking points about her

qualities, including “talented”, “great

help to the campaign” and “great respect

for her”. However it also contained the

phrase “do not hold grudges”, a refer-

ence to gossip that Ms Harris damaged

relations with the Biden camp by her

attack on him during the first Demo-

cratic presidential debate.

She criticised his opposition to bus-

sing, the policy of sending black child-

ren from poor areas to white middle

class schools, from which she benefited.

While Mr Biden is said to have put it

behind him, his wife and sister who are

part of his inner core of advisers, were

reported to have not been so forgiving.

Chris Dodd, the Connecticut senator

who is leading Mr Biden’s vetting com-

mittee, is also said to have reservations

about Ms Harris. He was “stunned” at

her description of the attack on Mr Bid-

en when he interviewed her, a cam-

paign donor said. “She laughed and

said, ‘That’s politics.’ She had no re-

morse,” Mr Dodd told the donor.

John Morgan, a Florida businessman

President Trump demanded that elect-

ion results in November must be de-

clared within hours of Americans cast-

ing their vote.

Ahead of an expected surge in postal

votes, the US leader raised the spectre

of fraud in the election, claiming that it

would be “the most rigged” in history.

Mr Trump, 74, backed away from his

earlier suggestion that the presidential

election could be delayed “until people

can properly, securely and safely vote”

after widespread objections, including

from many senior Republicans.

He insisted, however, that he wanted

to know the result on election night,

November 3, suggesting that delays

would signify cheating.

Mr Trump is trailing Joe Biden, 77, his

Keeping watch The US Coast Guard’s

Trump: We

David Charter

Behind the story

J

oe Biden named a

vetting committee of

four to interview his

shortlist of women to

be his running-mate

and scrutinise their

backgrounds for

vulnerabilities that could

damage his campaign

(David Charter writes).

Several women said that

they had undergone the

vetting process but there

has been no official

confirmation of who has

been checked out.

The committee has held

interviews with about a

dozen candidates and taken

counsel from their friends

and enemies. The key

guidance from Mr Biden

was: “I need someone who’s

going to be, as Barack said,

‘simpatico with me’, who is

a real partner in progress

and is ready to be president

on a moment’s notice.” This

was seen as counting

against the younger and less

experienced potential

candidates, as well as those

too far to the left.

The search committee

comprises Chris Dodd, 76, a

centrist lawyer and lobbyist

who was a senator for

Connecticut for 30 years

until 2011; Lisa Blunt

Rochester, 58, a left-leaning

black congresswoman from

Mr Biden’s home state of

Delaware; Eric Garcetti, 49,

mayor of Los Angeles since

2013; and Cynthia Hogan,

62, a lawyer who was

counsel to Mr Biden as

vice-president.

Many Democrats say that

Mr Dodd, a friend of Mr

Biden’s from his Senate

days, has the most active

role.

Hanging over the process

are the lessons of history,

notably the disastrous

selection by John McCain,

the Republican candidate in

2008, of Sarah Palin, the

former Alaska governor

who became a figure of fun.

Mr Dodd is said to be the

committee member who

Democrats have been

communicating with about

their reservations and

skeletons in the cupboard.

He has spent days on the

phone to local party

leaders, past and present

elected officials and donors.

All four of the committee

members have remained

tight-lipped about who is up

or down in the “veep

stakes” but Mr Dodd was

dragged into the limelight

with a report last week that

he was concerned about

Kamala Harris.

Friends of Mr Dodd have

defended him against

mutterings among left-wing

Democrats that he is not

the best person to be in

charge of assessing the

woman who will most

appeal to the party and

voters. “People might not

like Chris Dodd for

whatever reason, but I

think it’s wrong to say that

because of his race and

gender that he can’t make a

bold and transformative

recommendation,” Rose

Kapolczynski, a

Democratic strategist, said.

Mr Biden has also had

in-depth interviews with

the candidates as he seeks

to replicate the strong, loyal

and self-effacing

relationship that he had

with President Obama.

Harris under fire as Biden

closes in on running-mate

and campaign supporter, said that he

had voiced concerns about Ms Harris

to the committee. “She would be

running for president the day of the

inauguration,” Mr Morgan told CNBC.

“For me loyalty and friendship should

mean something.”

A Chicago businessman backing Mr

Biden said of Ms Harris: “I don’t like her

and I don’t like the way she cam-

paigned. She seems not loyal at all and

very opportunistic.”

The concerns have elevated the

fortunes of Ms Bass, who is seen in the

party as a consensus builder with little

care for the limelight and also has a

bond through tragedy with Mr Biden.

He lost his first wife and infant daugh-

ter in a car crash in 1972 and Ms Bass

lost her only daughter and son-in-law

in a road accident in 2006. She has also

said that she cannot see herself running

for president in 2024.

“I think that Karen has been under-

counted since day one,” said Steve

Westly, the former California state

controller and Biden fundraiser, who

added that he was glad to see Ms Bass

and Ms Harris on Mr Biden’s shortlist

“Everybody likes Karen Bass.” Mr

Westly said. “When you’ve been

speaker of the legislature for a state

that’s twice the population of New York

and the world’s fifth-biggest economy

[California], you know how to manage

media, you understand the economy. I

think she is stronger than people think.”

The third black woman, Ms Rice, had

the office next door to Mr Biden in the

White House and took life-and-death

decisions with him in the Situation

Room as national security adviser.

Republicans are waiting to pounce

should she secure the nomination,

however, over resentment for her inter-

views after the deadly attack on US

buildings in Benghazi in Libya in 2012.

Using the intelligence available at the

time Ms Rice stated that the attack was

spontaneous, suggesting it could not

have been anticipated, while soon after

it was assessed as a planned terrorist

attack.

None of the congressional inquiries

into Benghazi found that Ms Rice lied

but the incident haunts her.

United States
David Charter Washington

The candidates

Kamala Harris, 55,

senator from California

Moderate with some

liberal

positions,

stood to

be the

Democrat

candidate

for the

presidency. Attorney-

general for California in

2011-17 when she

became friends with

Beau Biden, Mr Biden’s

late son, who was

attorney-general of

Delaware. Long the

favourite but regarded

with suspicion by some

black Americans for her

role as a prosecutor.

Karen Bass, 66,

chairwoman of

Congressional Black

Caucus Liberal with

cross-

party

appeal.

Speaker of

the

California

state

assembly in 2008-10

during which time she

worked with Arnold

Schwarzenegger, the

Republican governor,

on tough budget

measures in the

financial crisis. Tipped

by many for her

consensual and modest

style.

Susan

Rice, 55,

national

security

adviser to

President

Obama On

conservative wing of

the party. As UN

ambassador in 2009-13,

steered through military

intervention in Libya.

Most experienced

candidate but never

elected to office and a

target of right-wing

criticism for her

explanation of attacks

on the US consulate in

Benghazi in 2012.

Tammy

Duckworth

52,

senator

from

Illinois

Moderate.

Lost both legs when the

army helicopter she was

co-piloting was shot

down in Iraq in 2004.

First senator to give

birth in office. Liked for

her plain-speaking.