Wednesday, former Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice heaped praise on presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden’s “historic” decision to add Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) to his ticket.
Rice, who was also in contention to be Biden’s running mate pick, said on NBC’s “Today” that a Biden-Harris “ticket is going to win,” adding the two make “a great team” to get the United States “back on track.”
“[Harris is] a great choice,” Rice advised. “She’s going to make a tremendous running mate for Joe Biden. I’m very confident the Biden/Harris ticket will be a winning one. We have so much work to do to put our country back on track, to recover from this pandemic, to revive our economy, to restore our standing in the world and our national security. And they’re a great team to do it. I’m glad I’m going to be able to support them and do my utmost to help elect Biden/Harris and help them govern when the time comes.”
Rice emphasized that it is “past time” a black woman made it on the ticket because black women “are the backbone of this nation.”
“Look, this ticket is going to win,” she added. “And yes, there will be those that employ racism and sexism. Look at Donald Trump yesterday, you know, calling her nasty. He would have done that to any person that Joe Biden selected on the ticket. And that’s the undertone. There are those who will not retreat from that kind of divisiveness and hatred, and Donald Trump exemplifies it. But look, I believe this nation is ready to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I have every confidence that she’ll be tremendous on the trail. And frankly, we’re going to have to bust through these barriers, Savannah. You and I and all the women watching this understand that is the challenge we face every day. But it’s time and I think when we do it, it will be an extraordinary breakthrough.”
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