‘No Chance’ for Michelle Obama to Become Biden’s Running Mate, Ex-WH Adviser Says

On Tuesday, Joe Biden reaffirmed his willingness to see the former US first lady as his running mate in the country’s 2020 presidential election in November.

Former White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett has suggested there is “no chance” that ex-US First Lady Michelle Obama will be Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s running mate.

“The reason why I'm being so unequivocal is that there just simply has never been a time when she's expressed an interest in running for office. She’s not demurring here. She’s not being hard to get. She doesn’t want the job”, Jarrett, who is also an Obama family confidante, said in an interview with The Hill on Tuesday.

The ex-White House adviser argued that there is no doubt that Biden “would take” Michelle Obama as his running mate.

US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama, his running mate Joe Biden(2nd-L) and their wives Michelle and Jill(L)disembark from Obama's campaign plane at Detroit Metropolitan International airport in Detroit, Michigan, September 28, 2008

© AFP 2023 / EMMANUEL DUNAND

According to Jarrett, the question is whether this is “the way in which she wants to continue her life of service”.

“There is a difference between being a public servant and being a politician, and she has no interest in being a politician. Her husband was interested in being both. She’s only interested in the service component”, Jarrett asserted.

She spoke after Biden told the CBS-owned KDKA television station on Monday that he would take the ex-US first lady as his running mate “in a heartbeat”.

“She's brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman”, Biden said, adding at the same time that he is just “beginning the process” of selecting a vice president.

The remarks followed the Democratic presidential contender saying during a campaign stop in Iowa in late January that he “sure would like Michelle [Obama] to be the vice president”, touting the former first lady and her husband Barack Obama as “incredibly qualified, decent and honourable people”.

Biden remains the last standing presidential hopeful to challenge incumbent Donald Trump in the 3 November elections, after Senator Bernie Sanders wrapped up his bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination earlier in April.