Sen. Amy Klobuchar addresses rumors of joining Biden's ticket as vice president
After former Vice President Joe Biden said recently that he’ll pick a female vice president for his ticket, rumors of Sen. Amy Klobuchar taking the spot have swirled. The Minnesota lawmaker addressed the rumors Wednesday on ABC's "The View."
"I am not talking about hypotheticals. I have not [talked to him about this],"Klobuchar told the hosts, adding "There are great women throughout this country, and no one knows better about being vice president than Joe Biden."
"He did the job really well with [former President] Barack Obama for eight years," she continued. "So he'll make that decision. I think right now we're in a crisis. That's why people are turning to him.”
Shortly after Klobuchar suspended her campaign earlier this month, she joined the list of former candidates endorsing Biden.
With several extremely successful primary nights, Biden became a clear Democratic front-runner, as the field continued to narrow.
When the hosts asked Klobuchar for her opinion on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' chances and whether he should suspend as well, she said it's "his decision."
"That is so his decision … I just have faith that he’ll make a decision when that decision is right for him," she said.
Klobuchar also weighed in on whether Biden would actually be able to bring on Sanders’ supporters if the Vermont independent were to exit the race.
"If and when he makes that decision that he would endorse Joe Biden, I think that he will do everything to bring his supporters with him," she said.
Klobuchar added that she hopes the most liberal supporters will rally behind a candidate for the "big mission" to beat President Donald Trump.
"My proof point is actually what happened in 2018, just two years ago, where a lot of our most progressive people in our country, our most liberal people … they voted for people who maybe didn't share their view on everything," she said. "Maybe some candidates weren't for Medicare for all, and we were."
She added, "they knew that the mission was bigger than anything that divided us."
The hosts also questioned Klobuchar on the government's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. She said the federal government should be stepping up efforts in the midst of the crisis.
"The federal government should be helping," she said. "Think about when a hurricane comes in. You build tents. You make sure that you are prepared for it ahead of time, and a lot of that was not going on with this administration.”
She called for a further push for testing and vaccines, aid for families out of work and aid for local communities to help people vote from home.
What to know about coronavirus:
- How it started and how to protect yourself: coronavirus explained
- What to do if you have symptoms: coronavirus symptoms
- Tracking the spread in the US and Worldwide: coronavirus map
"Our most important job in governments to protect people from harm, and so all of this should go in our thinking," she said. "We should treat this as a national emergency, and work together as a team and not try to divide people."
She added "People are going to make judgment calls. Some they'll have to correct. Some will be right on, and we learn from each other.”
