Biden's 'unusual' VP pick process included asking candidates what Trump might nickname them

The intense process included media scrutiny and grilling by lawyers, insiders say

All the women with a shot at becoming Joe Biden's running mate first had to face the same, sometimes jarring questions in an initial interview: What would your agenda be? What do you think Donald Trump's nickname for you would be?

It was the opening gantlet of an arduous voyage – interviews followed by interviews in some cases, a public scrutiny that surfaced old foes or embarrassing quotes in the media, and for the 11 finalists, a deep examination by an individualised panel of 12 to 15 lawyers that culminated in time with Mr Biden himself.

The process was in many ways unlike any other vice-presidential search in memory – taking place under an unusual public glare fostered by Mr Biden's early declaration that he would consider only women for the job, a decision that brought on fierce lobbying to further narrow the field by race. Hundreds of prominent black activists, lawmakers and opinion leaders called on Mr Biden to choose a black woman, effectively putting him in a political bind as he mulled his most consequential decision as a presidential candidate.

Senator Kamala Harris, D-California, emerged on top in the end, winning over Mr Biden and his immediate family, to become the first black woman, the first Asian American, the first graduate of a historically black college and the first Californian since Ronald Reagan to find a place on a major-party national ticket.

Interviews with people briefed on the Biden vice-presidential selection effort described a process Tuesday that was extensive and laborious, with no certainty of outcome, even though Mr Biden eventually landed on the former primary rival many had predicted from the start.

"A lot of his thought process was who shared his values, who he could work with, who could help him win and who could be ready on day one," Biden campaign co-chair Cedric L. Richmond said in an interview after Ms Harris's selection had been announced. "He was looking at data and looking at track records and looking at a whole bunch of things."

Race hovered over the interview process almost from the start.

As protests over racial justice swept the nation, one prominent white candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, publicly withdrew from consideration, while another prominent black candidate, Stacey Abrams, announced publicly that she thought a woman of colour should be selected.

Ms Abrams and Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, a disabled Iraq War veteran whose mother was of Thai and Chinese descent, were among the candidates who were interviewed over the weekend. They both received a call Tuesday telling them they did not get the job.

The initial vetting was conducted by a team of four co-chairs, former senator Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Biden adviser Cynthia Hogan and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware. They logged more than 120 hours meeting with party activists, interest groups and other stakeholders with designs on who could best serve the party and country, according to a person familiar with the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

They also met, in pairs, with more than 20 initial candidates, who had been subjected to an initial public records review, and prepared a presentation for Mr Biden and his wife, Jill, to narrow the field. Mr Biden also met individually with each of the co-chairs to solicit additional recommendations.

"We are grateful to the incredibly talented and diverse field of women leaders for their time, commitment, and dedication, and to the hundreds of stakeholders whose valuable input was a critical part of this effort," the four co-chairs said in a joint statement after Ms Harris was selected. "Vice President Biden's focus from the very start was on who would be the best governing partner to help him lead our country out of the chaos created by Donald Trump."

Ms Harris performed well in that initial meeting with the co-chairs, according to a person familiar with how it went, who declined to disclose any of the candidates' answers to the initial interview questions. The co-chairs described her as having an impressive balance of the presence to take on Mr Trump and knowledge of the issues. She also spoke in the meeting about her close relationship with Mr Biden's late son Beau and her personal story of having immigrant parents, a mother from India and a father from Jamaica.

She also continued to work with interest groups outside of the process, courting black activists during racial justice protests over the summer. Despite a leaked comment from Mr Dodd questioning whether Ms Harris had enough "remorse" for her attacks on Mr Biden during the primary, Mr Biden himself stayed true to his public statements behind the scenes, displaying no lingering grudge.

Long after Ms Harris had accused Mr Biden of offending her for praising segregationist senators and opposing forced busing, the two leaders had found a way to get along, meeting by chance on her husband's October 2019 birthday in a private airport terminal on the campaign trail. As Ms Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, shared cupcakes with the Biden team, the two candidates wandered away for a private conversation that helped solidify their bond, according to people who were familiar with the exchange.

Ultimately 11 women made it to the final phase of the process, far more than publicly reported, with Mr Biden conducting one-on-one interviews with each over the last nine days, sometimes in person and some virtually. Celinda Lake, one of the Biden campaign's pollsters, did research on the best way to introduce each of the candidates personal stories, and the campaign prepared rollout strategies, including potential new campaign logos, for all of the finalists.

Washington Post