While Americans across the U.S. are being affected by the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden is pressing forward in his campaign.
Despite the Democratic party not officially having a nominee yet, Biden is telling Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that he is starting his search for potential vice president picks and thinking about who he would like in his potential cabinet.
During a virtual fundraising event on Friday, Biden told donors, “One of the things I learned a long time ago, and I really mean this, a good leader has to be willing to have people that are smarter than them, know more than they know about a subject, bring in people who in fact have an expertise you don’t have.”
The former vice president continued, “And so I am in the process and I actually had this discussion with Bernie. He’s a friend. We’re competitors.”
“I don’t want him to think I’m being presumptuous but you have to start now deciding who you’re going to have background checks done on as potential vice presidential candidates and it takes time.”
Additionally, he noted that he spoke with former President Barack Obama on “how soon you have to start.”
“It’s kind of presumptuous, but sometime in the middle of the month we’re going to announce a committee that’s going to be overseeing the vice presidential selection process,” Biden said.
Biden takes the lead in the 2020 Democratic primary, as he has 1,217 delegates while Sanders garnered 914 delegates. This is out of 1,991 delegates needed to win the nomination.
The former vice president has expressed that he is “confident” he will become the party’s nominee. However, Sanders has resisted pressure for him to drop the race, though he has admitted it is a “narrow path” to the nomination.
The two are vying for the party’s nomination to take on President Donald Trump in the November election.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) recently announced that it will be pushing its convention to the week of August 17 amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Republican National Convention will be held on the week of August 24.