Stacey Abrams: ‘I would be willing to serve’ if asked to be Biden’s VP
April 26, 2020
Stacey Abrams said Sunday she would be willing to accept an offer to be former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate .
Abrams, a former party leader in the Georgia Legislature and 2018 candidate for governor, was not shy about making her case for a spot on the ticket in a pair of interviews — and also said Biden choosing a woman of color would "help promote not only diversity, but trust."
"As a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didn’t speak up for myself, no one else would, so ... my mission is to say out loud if I’m asked the question, 'Yes, I would be willing to serve,'" Abrams said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" when asked by host Chuck Todd if she'd be the best running mate for Biden.
She added, "There is a process that will played out" and that Biden "will pick the person he needs."
Candidates for vice president often are reluctant to express an interest in the job, but that is something Abrams had no qualms about.
"It's not about attention for being the running mate. It is about making sure that my qualifications aren't in question, because they're not just speaking to me. They're speaking to young black women, young women of color, young people of color, who wonder if they too can be seen," Abrams said in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union." "What I try to do is tell the truth and be direct. But I understand that there is a process that will be at work, and that he has no shortage of qualified candidates to choose from.”
She deflected concerns about her lack of executive experience, pointing to her national work since she lost a closely contested gubernatorial election to Republican Brian Kemp, including with a group she founded to promote voting rights.
"I believe in doing the work," she said on "Meet the Press." "I've been doing it since the day I did not become governor and I will continue to do so. And I do so at a national level."
Biden has pledged that he will pick a woman to be his running mate, and Abrams long has been seen as a potential running mate for Biden. Other prominent female politicians have been repeatedly mentioned, such as Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California — all of whom were candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination — as well as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Abrams last week called for Biden to pick a woman of color and said it would be concerning if the former vice president didn't do so, given their strong support for the Democratic Party.
"I, of course, think that a woman of color can bring certain attributes. We have to lift up marginalized communities, communities that do not trust that they will be served because they've been the hardest hit by this pandemic," Abrams said. "And so, yes, having a woman of color on the ticket will help promote not only diversity, but trust."
Source: https://www.politico.com/
