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Joe Biden could pick a transgender woman as his running mate, former aide says: 'Everything's possible'

Biden, during a political event with Bernie Sanders in March, publicly committed to choosing a woman as his running mate. He also vowed to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court

BY NAMRATA TRIPATHI

UPDATED APR 14, 2020

Former Vice President and 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden could select a running mate who identifies as a woman, his former senior adviser Moe Vela speculated. Vela, the founder of the Vela Group, made the remarks while making an appearance on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Sunday with host Joel Pollak.

The question of a possible transgender running mate was brought up by Pollack who referred to the Biden campaign's characterization that transgender equality is “the civil rights issue of our time.”

The host asked: "This vice presidential choice, now — I’m saying the next bit facetiously, but I hope you’ll take it in the spirit it’s given — Joe Biden has said that the transgender movement is the civil rights movement of our time, so isn’t it somewhat cisgenderist to say you’re going to pick a female vice president, or can one qualify by identifying as female?”

Vela replied with: “Oh wow, Joel. I never thought I’d get a question I’d never heard before. This is my 179th interview in four months and you just did it. I have to send you something like a gift of some kind. I don’t think anything’s out of the realm of possibility. I do not — as an openly gay man myself, and as hopefully somewhat of a leader nationally in the LGBTQ movement — I do not anticipate that, but everything’s possible."

Democratic presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden addresses a crowd at a town hall event at Clinton College on August 29, 2019 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Biden spent Wednesday and Thursday campaigning in the early primary state.

"Certainly they would qualify as in the woman’s category, but, in fact, I don’t even know of anybody who would be qualified at this point to play that role, so I don’t think we’re going to see that, but you know what? I think that’s a really interesting question, actually," Vella added.

The former Biden adviser also talked about the women leaders from the Democratic party whom the Democratic frontrunner could select as his running mate ahead of his prospective party nomination.

“I feel like [Joe Biden] is drowning in a sea of blessings,” Vela said. “He’s got so many incredible women to pick from. I love that he already announced it was going to be a woman. I thought that was fantastic on his part. He’s got so many incredibly talented women to pick from. We have a bench that would make any pro team very highly successful. From the West Coast with Kamala Harris, to Nevada with Catherine Cortez Masto, to Amy Klobuchar in the Midwest and the Heartland, to Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, to Elizabeth Warren in Boston, and so many other women in between. He’s got a ton of women to pick from I can’t wait to see who he picks."

Biden, during a CNN-hosted political event with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in March, publicly committed to choosing a woman as his running mate. The former vice president said: "If I’m elected president, my cabinet, my administration will look like the country,” he said. “I commit that I will, in fact, pick a woman to be my vice president.” Biden, earlier this year, also vowed to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court if he was elected president this year.