President Joe Biden answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on January 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C. | Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
The president said in no uncertain terms that Vice President Kamala Harris will be his running mate in 2024, reassuring skeptics amid speculation about both of their futures while also admitting that he understood — while pushing back against — the narrative that he may have let down Black voters to whom campaign promises have not been kept.
President Joe Biden‘s affirmative response to a direct question about who would be leading the Democratic ticket in two years came during a wide-ranging press conference held in the White House on Wednesday, one day before the one-year anniversary of his and Harris’ historic inaugurations.
Biden was pressed on a number of issues, including and especially voting rights, a priority for which Biden assigned Harris to take the lead — and one in which he expressed the utmost confidence in the vice president’s ability to handle. But when Biden was asked to respond to Black voters who, polling shows, are dissatisfied with the president’s effort on securing voting rights, the answer was a little more complicated.
About an hour into the press conference, NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker asked Biden about Black voters who “feel like you’re not fighting hard enough for them.” Welker said Black voters see Biden’s recently renewed push for voting rights as a “last-minute” attempt to save face on a topic that is largely seen as immediately unattainable despite the president’s campaign promise to the contrary.
“I’ve had their back,” Biden said about Black voters, taking apparent umbrage to the implication that he has let Black voters down. “I’ve never not had their back.”
Harkening back to his time as a U.S. Senator who successfully negotiated voting rights in the past, Biden admitted the recent optics behind his increasingly vocal support for voting rights legislation might send the wrong message to his base.
“I’m sure there are those saying, ‘Why didn’t Biden push John Lewis bill 6 months ago?’” Biden said in reference to the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. “The fact is that there is a timing that is not one’s own choices and are dictated by events,” Biden added without going into specifics.
He blamed himself as well as the pandemic for having “not been out in the community nearly enough,” calling that “part of the problem.”
When Welker pressed Biden on whether Harris would seek re-election along with him in 2024 and if he had any regrets assigning her to take the lead on voting rights, Biden was much more direct with his answers.
“Yes and yes,” Biden said succinctly.
When asked to expound, Biden was straightforward.
“She’s gonna be my running mate,” he declared.
As far as Harris leading on voting rights, Biden supported the vice president unequivocally.
“I did put her in charge,” Biden said. “I think she’s doing a good job.”
Biden’s press conference came as Senate Democrats were moving forward with trying to change the filibuster rule in what will likely be an unsuccessful attempt to advance voting rights legislation thanks in no small part to Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema’s opposition to their party’s agenda.
SEE ALSO:
King Family Leads Cross-Country Actions Demanding Senate End The Filibuster To Pass Voting Rights Legislation
Old Tweet Of Kyrsten Sinema Calling John Lewis Her ‘Hero’ Resurfaces As She Blocks Voting Rights
During the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday season, people give lip service to the civil rights icon’s life and legacy. This year is no exception, with a heated fight for voting rights that has been brewing since Republicans had a majority in the Senate. A defining moment and opportunity to come together in the spirit of one of the country’s leading moral voices, Congressional Republicans refuse to support any effort to restore the Voting Rights Act or create national standards. Last fall, Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Raphael Warnock and a small group of Democratic Senators reworked the For the People Act into the Freedom to Vote Act to bring some of their Republican colleagues on board. Manchin has been stuck on having voting rights legislation be a bipartisan effort. And yet, even the Republicans who worked with him on the bipartisan infrastructure bill would not budge on putting in place universal standards for all voters. Sixteen Republican Senators currently in office supported the Voting Rights Act when it was last reauthorized in 2006. Sen. Susan Collins was even a co-sponsor. “One of the most fundamental and significant rights afforded to American citizens is the right to vote. This right must not be hampered or denied to any citizen through discriminatory tactics,” said Senator Collins in a statement. “This bill will ensure that the voting rights afforded to all Americans are protected.” While Republicans pretend the current push to pass voting rights legislation is some baseless attempt to “usurp power,” it is a continuation of a long-term effort to restrict ballot access. Even before the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted some of the protections of the Voting Rights Act, states tried to enact laws limiting access. But after Shelby County, voting rights legislation has not been able to move forward until now. Republicans who supported subverting democracy in favor of Trump’s big lie about the 2020 election and virtually non-existent voter fraud are now trying to claim voting rights legislation as the alleged attack on democracy. Even the opposition to setting aside the filibuster to bring voting rights legislation to the Senate floor for debate and a vote is hypocritical. In 2017, Republicans used a filibuster rule change to move a Trump SCOTUS nominee forward. And most recently, in a rare move, Sen. Mitch McConnell cooperated with Sen. Chuck Schumer in a procedure to suspend the filibuster for a vote on the debt ceiling. As much as conservatives love to distort King’s quotes and legacy, they may want to heed his words on obstructing progress. During an interview in 1963, the elder King took the issue a particular Senate filibuster threat. Remembering King’s legacy, life and work should lead to heading all his words. “Please share this quote from my father through #MLKDay2022: ‘I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting.’ @LeaderMcConnell @SenatorSinema,” tweeted Dr. Bernice King. https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/1481865839557160960?s=20 The awakening after the 2016 and 2018 elections led to more public attention on the fight to protect voting rights and free and fair elections. And now in this defining moment in history, Senators have a choice to make. They can be on the side of Dr. King and the late Rep. John Lewis, another icon they love to name drop. Alternatively, they can be on the side of Bull Connor and other racists who fought hard to undermine free and fair access to the ballot. Continuing to shut down creating national standards makes it clear what side they are on. Almost 152 years since Black voting rights were established by the 15th Amendment, federal intervention to protect voting rights remains essential. Check out this brief timeline of some of the events that have occurred since Congressional Republicans last supported voting rights.
Vowing Kamala Harris Will Be His 2024 Running Mate, Biden Addresses Black Voters In Wide-Ranging Press Conference was originally published on newsone.com
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