Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden’s campaign rolled out the video as a campaign ad revealing the moment Sen. Kamala Harris accepting (D-CA) his request to be his potential vice president.
The two-minute video begins with Biden in a zoom video call cutting right to the chase by asking Harris, “You ready to go to work?”
“Oh my God,” Harris responds. “I am so ready to go to work.”
.@KamalaHarris is the daughter of proud immigrants—a mother from India and a father from Jamaica—who raised her to take action.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 12, 2020
That’s exactly what this moment calls for: action. And we hope you’ll take action with us: https://t.co/K3mVwfTxXJ pic.twitter.com/MZLAx9IN6C
The video then cuts to the focus of Harris from her childhood through her political career as California Attorney General to then becoming a U.S. Senator. Harris narrates the video where she details her mixed racial background while touting her political record to fight to “represent people like” her mother that “politicians often overlook or don’t take seriously.”
“I was raised to take action. My mother knew that she was raising two Black daughters who would be treated differently because of how they looked,” Harris narrates in the video. “Growing up, whenever I got upset about something, my mother would look me in the eye and ask, ‘So what are you going to do about it?’”
“That’s why when I saw a broken justice system, I became a lawyer to try and fix it. It’s why during the foreclosure crisis, I took on the big banks as California’s attorney general. It’s why as United States senator, I have fought to represent people like my mother,” she added. “People who politicians often overlook or don’t take seriously. Right now, America needs action.”
The California Senator goes on criticizing President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus and the nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in late May, declaring that Biden would properly address these two issues and “lead us out of it.”
“In the middle of a pandemic, the president is trying to rip away health care. While small businesses closed, he’s given breaks to his wealthy donors. And when the people cried out for support, he tear-gassed them,” Harris says. “America is in a crisis, and I know Joe Biden will lead us out of it. He’s a man of faith, decency, and character.”
“As Joe says, ‘we’re in a battle for the soul of this nation.’ But together, it’s a battle we can win. We just have to take action.”
The video cuts back to the moment with Biden asking Harris once again if her answer is “Yes?”
“The answer is absolutely yes, Joe,” the video concludes with Harris officially accepting the No.2 job. “And I am ready to work. I am ready to do this with you, for you, I am just deeply honored and I’m very excited.”
According to a source familiar with the Biden campaign, Harris and Biden met in person in the last week of July.
In an email to supporters announcing his VP pick, Biden touted Harris as someone who is “smart, tough, and ready to lead.”
“You make a lot of important decisions as president. But the first one is who you select to be your Vice President. I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021,” Biden said. I first met Kamala through my son Beau. They were both Attorneys General at the same time. He had enormous respect for her and her work. I thought a lot about that as I made this decision. There is no one’s opinion I valued more than Beau’s and I’m proud to have Kamala standing with me on this campaign.”
The announcement comes after months of internal deliberations and secret interview meeting that saw at least a dozen prominent women vetted for the position. Other Black female contenders included former national security adviser Susan Rice, Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and former Georgia 2018 Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Biden was also considering Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
20202020 Election2020 Presidential RaceJoe BidenPresident TrumpSen. Kamala HarrisVice President
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