Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) gave her thoughts about Joe Biden’s potential vice president pick on Friday during an ESSENCE Live townhall, saying she strongly believes Biden is going to pick a Black woman as his running mate.
“Let me guarantee you this, based on everything that I know and understand, and the help that [Biden] has already gotten from the Black community…he can’t go home without a Black woman being VP,” Waters said confidently. “We’re going to have a Black woman VP.”
Of course, Biden has yet to confirm his choice even as the Democratic National Convention draws closer, and more and more Americans continue to watch with a close eye as he is the presumptive nominee.
Names floated around as a potential pick include Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as several accomplished Black women like former national security advisor Susan Rice, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.)
Waters also took the time to encourage everyone to step out and vote, noting “I believe that Black Lives Matter and the protests that were the streets, all that’s a sign of people understanding that this dangerous man with all of this power must not continue in office for another four years.”
Noting the memory and legacy of her departed colleague and civil rights icon, the late Rep. John Lewis who passed away last month, Waters emphasized that there is no reason not to vote in the upcoming elections, “whatever it takes.”
“We have a responsibility to vote,” Waters said firmly. “We can’t have people going around talking about how wonderful John Lewis was, how much he sacrificed, the beatings that he took, the way that he put his life on the line and we don’t get up and vote. There is no excuse.”
“Our lives depend on this,” she added. “Four more years of Trump, he will be able to exercise the kind of exclusion and discrimination that will set us back many, many years and we cannot afford that. He stands to imperil our future and the future of our children. So vote, vote, vote.”
Essence News Townhall with Congresswoman Maxine Waters
News & Politics Editor Breanna Edwards gets an update from Congresswoman Waters on everything from Covid-19 to Trump and more!
Posted by Essence on Friday, August 7, 2020
The post Rep. Maxine Waters On Joe Biden: ‘He Can’t Go Home Without A Black Woman VP’ appeared first on Essence.
