Biden says he’s considering this woman politician as his VP

Former Vice President Joe Biden added Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s name to the list of women he is eyeing for his running mate.

Biden, who said previously he would choose a female vice president, told MSNBC’s Brian Williams that he has been weighing Whitmer, along with a handful of other female vice-presidential possibilities, for several months but would ultimately narrow it down and pick a candidate this month.

Biden is also considering Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Stacey Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia state House, among others.

“She made the list in my mind two months ago,” Biden told Williams about Whitmer. “There’s probably going to be a list, I’m in the process of — Brian, we’ll have it by mid-April, putting together an organization that will run the background checks … by the second or third week in April.”

“I’ve thought about some of the women who I believe are ready to be president and I think I can work with and would be willing to work with me. It’s going to be somewhere between six and 10 of them,” Biden added.

As Michigan governor, Whitmer may be particularly appealing as she is a well-liked governor who heads up a must-win swing state for Democrats come November. Whitmer endorsed Biden ahead of her state’s Democratic primary and helped him score a victory over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Whitmer has also proven that she is tough and unafraid to take it to President Donald Trump, who she has publicly criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Facing a dangerous abdication of leadership from Donald Trump during this pandemic, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been a tenacious fighter for Michigan families,” Biden released in a statement.

“Donald Trump could learn a thing or two from Governor Whitmer — speed matters, details matter, and people matter.”