Most plugged-in Democrats I’ve talked to argue that in 2020, with an experienced person at the top of the ticket and the desperate imperative among Democrats to remove Trump from office, the Biden campaign was driven by more short-term considerations, making Harris more of an August-October pick.
“When you pick your vice president you are trying to win an election first and foremost,” said a Biden adviser.
“I think this is what he grappled with,” said a Democrat familiar with the selection process. “Kamala was a no-brainer on the political side. But his process was about figuring out what kind of a partner she would be on the governing side. And can he replicate the closeness he had with Obama in this selection, and will he be able to confide in her and trust her? Will she have my back at all costs.?”
The loyalty question hung over the process. One way that Harris seemed to have answered it was to point to her record as attorney general in California.
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