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Democratic debate: Biden commits to picking a woman as vice president, Sanders says he's likely to do the same

Bernie Sanders, who was recently accused of saying a woman can't become the president, seemed to be less committed in his assurance

The 11th Democratic presidential debate took place in Washington DC on Sunday, March 15 and it was a face-off between former vice president Joe Biden and Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders. The debate was unique as it was witnessed by zero audiences because of the coronavirus scare. 

During the debate, Biden said he would pick a woman to run as his vice president. “I commit that I will, in fact, pick a woman to be vice president,” the 77-year-old Democratic frontrunner said. “There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. I would pick a woman to be my vice president.”

Biden hinted in the past that he could pick Kamala Harris, the California senator who was in the presidential race till last December, even though the two had some heated verbal exchanges during the debates. Biden's allies, though, have told CNBC that the former vice president hasn’t yet focused on any particular woman to be his running mate but experts have named Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who was also in the race till recently; former Georgia statehouse lawmaker Stacy Abrams and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer also as potential choices. 

Both Harris and Klobuchar have endorsed Biden for presidency. 

The 77-year-old former No.2 at the White House also committed to nominating a black woman to the Supreme Court.

Sanders said he would also pick a woman but was less committed

The moderators also asked Sanders the same question but he was less committed than Biden over the same though he conceded that he will also go Biden’s way. “In all likelihood, I will” select a woman vice president, the senator said.

“For me, it’s not just nominating a woman, it is making sure we have a progressive woman, and there are progressive women out there,” he added.

Sanders courted controversy in recent times when he was accused of telling Elizabeth Warren, another former presidential candidate, that a woman can not become the president of the US. He denied it at a debate in Iowa in which even saw Warren refusing to shake hands with him after the debate got over. 

No woman has ever become the president or vice president of the US.