Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden “has to” pick a black woman as his running mate, according to a group of over 100 black male leaders who say Biden will otherwise lose the presidential election.
In a letter made public Monday and cosigned by actors, musicians, radio hosts, politicians, lawyers, athletes, and more, black leaders write that it “disgusts us that Black women are not just being vetted in this VP process but unfairly criticized and scrutinized,” Fox News reports.
The need for Biden to pick a black woman as his running mate “has gone from something that SHOULD happen to something that HAS to happen,” the letter says. (RELATED: Biden Claims That ‘Unlike’ The Black Community, ‘The Latino Community … Is Incredibly Diverse’)
NEW: More than 100 Black male leaders sign letter demanding Joe Biden pick Black woman as VP. “Failing to select a Black woman … means YOU WILL lose the election … Black women are defining the future of politics so it’s time you let one define the future of your campaign.” pic.twitter.com/HOJs0d8q8h
— Kat Stafford (@kat__stafford) August 10, 2020
The list of black leaders includes Sean “Diddy” Combs, a rapper and entrepreneur who has repeatedly told Biden not to take the black vote for granted, according to Fox, and radio talk show host Lenard McKelvey, otherwise known as “Charlamagne Tha God.”
During a May interview, Biden told McKelvey, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
“Was Joe Biden ever labeled ‘too ambitious’ because he ran for president three times? Should President Obama not have made him the VP because he had to worry about his ‘loyalty’ when he clearly had AMBITIONS to be president himself? Why does Senator Kamala Harris have to show remorse for questioning Biden’s previous stance on integrated busing during a democratic primary debate?” the letter asks.
“What about the 1994 Crime Bill? Let’s be clear about the kind of remorse and reckoning that matters in 2020 when the Black community is still suffering the consequences for these oppressive measures. So, Black women are the only ones required to stay in their place and to show remorse for even questioning their own oppression?” the co-signers continue.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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