Joe Biden reportedly favored Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as his 2020 running mate but ultimately turned to Kamala Harris amid racial politics inflamed by the Black Lives Matter riots.
According to the Gateway Pundit, the disclosure emerges from a lengthy profile in The Atlantic casting Whitmer as a leading prospect for the Democrats 2028 presidential nomination and revisiting the internal maneuvering behind Bidens vice-presidential search. The piece underscores how identity politics, rather than merit or governing philosophy, drove a pivotal decision in the Democratic ticket that would later preside over sweeping COVID-19 mandates and hard-left policy shifts.
Whitmers national profile surged in 2020 as she imposed some of the countrys most draconian pandemic restrictions and repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump over lockdowns, economic reopening, and executive power. Her aggressive posture, hailed by progressives and sharply criticized by conservatives, made her an early favorite among Democrats seeking a running mate who would double down on heavy-handed government control.
By the summer of 2020, Whitmer was under active consideration and formally vetted for the vice-presidential slot. She became the first finalist to sit down with Biden in person, traveling to Delaware in August 2020 for what insiders described as a cordial and productive meeting.
Those close to the process said Whitmer and Biden developed an easy rapport, and the governor was ready to accept the offer if it came. A former senior staffer for Whitmer told The Atlantic, The moment called for a black running mate, citing the intense pressure on Biden from activists and party operatives after the George Floyd riots.
The Atlantics account notes that by summer 2020, Whitmer was being vetted for vice president and initially hesitated, unsure she wanted to become a creature of Washington, D.C. Yet by the time Biden summoned her to Delaware for an in-person conversation, she was ready to say yes, only for Biden to pass her over because the moment called for a Black running mate, leading him to select Kamala Harris instead.
That same former staffer added, But I think he wanted it to be Whitmer, a judgment a former adviser to both Biden and Harris said carried some weight. The implication is that Bidens personal preference was overridden by the demands of a party increasingly beholden to racial quotas and activist pressure rather than broad-based electoral appeal.
Whitmer herself confirmed in a December 2020 interview with Detroits FOX 2 that she would have accepted the role had Biden asked. If Joe Biden had called and said, I need you to be my partner and be my running mate, I would have said yes. This election was that important, she stated, later adding that she ultimately felt a sigh of relief when the call never came and she remained governor.
Biden had already promised to choose a woman as his running mate, and Whitmer was widely viewed as a strong ideological and geographic match, particularly for the industrial Midwest. Yet multiple outlets reported at the time that black Democratic leaders and activists insisted on a black woman for the ticket, warning that picking Whitmer could cost support in key battlegrounds such as Michigan, underscoring how racial politics trumped executive readiness.
Whitmer went on to campaign aggressively for the Biden-Harris ticket and continued to back Biden through his 2024 reelection effort until he withdrew from the race. The episode now serves as a revealing case study in how the Democratic Partys fixation on identity politics shaped the ticket that preceded President Donald Trumps current second administration, raising fresh questions about whether competence and constitutional restraint were ever truly the priority.
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