President Trump on Tuesday morning found another reason to slam Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden amid speculation that Biden will announce his vice presidential pick midweek.
According to the New York Times on Monday, people briefed on the selection process for Biden’s VP pick said that the four-member committee involved in the vetting process completed its work and disbanded. Biden reportedly could announce his decision as soon as Tuesday, although more Democrats expect a public public announcement on Wednesday.
When asked during an interview on Fox Sports Radio about his thoughts on who Biden should pick as his running mate, Trump replied that he “would be inclined to go a different route than what he’s done.”
The President argued that Biden “roped himself into, you know, a certain group of people,” without going into specifics, before Fox Sports Radio host Clay Travis jumped in to mention Biden’s commitment to choosing a woman as his running mate.
Trump suggested that men may be “insulted” if Biden followed through on his commitment, which he first raised during a Democratic primary debate against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) earlier this year.
Biden has reportedly strongly considered Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D); Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); Susan Rice, former national security adviser to President Barack Obama; New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D); and Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Val Demings (D-FL) as potential running mates.
“He said that and, you know, some people would say that men are insulted by that,” Trump said. “And some people would say it’s fine. I don’t know.”
The President added that people don’t vote for the vice president, before going on to praise Vice President Mike Pence for being “incredible” and having “done a really, really good job in everything I’ve given him.”
“You can pick George Washington to be your vice president,” Trump said. “Let’s pick up Abraham Lincoln coming back from the dead. They just don’t seem to vote for the VP.”
Biden campaign director of rapid response Andrew Bates told TPM on Tuesday that Trump’s remarks show that the President is “easily threatened.”
“And because of his insulting negligence and erratic, failed leadership, over 5 million Americans have been infected with coronavirus, over 160,000 died, and tens of millions remain jobless,” Bates said in a statement on Tuesday.
Listen to Trump’s remarks below:
