A Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket will go a long way toward securing support for the Democrat among African-American voters, Fox News contributor and Fox Nation host Lawrence Jones told “Your World” Tuesday.
Jones suggeted to host Neil Cavuto that a recent letter signed by a group of more than 100 Black male leaders that urged Biden to pick a Black woman as his running mate likely drove the former vice president’s decision to tap Harris for the No. 2 slot on the ticket.
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“Those Black men … made it very clear that if they didn’t get a Black woman on the ticket, that they were going to sit out this election,” Jones said. “And as you know, the Democratic Party needs Black voters to show up. They couldn’t afford the same thing to happen again [as in 2016] where there wasn’t … a high turnout when it came to Black voters in the last race.”
In the letter, which was made public on Monday, the signatories warned the former vice president that “failing to select a Black woman in 2020 means you will lose the election.”
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The letter’s co-signers – which included actors, musicians, entertainers, radio hosts, filmmakers, academics, politicians, lawyers, athletes, pastors, business leaders, restaurateurs and activists – emphasized that they “stand in solidarity” with more than 700 Black women who last week signed a letter demanding that Biden choose a Black running mate.
At the top of the list was rapper, record executive and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s warned Biden multiple times this spring and summer not to take the Black vote for granted.
“To have the leaders like P. Diddy, [CNN commentator] Van Jones and others say that they weren’t going to support the nominee if they didn’t get a Black female, I think that weighed on the vice president,” Jones said.
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The host of Fox Nation’s “Keeping Up With Jones” added that Biden’s choice of Harris as running mate was “not unexpected, but I know it was a tough decision based on my sources within the [Biden] inner circle.
“He really liked Susan Rice, he had a personal relationship with her, but I think what it came down to … [was the fact that] she didn’t really have any experience in elected office and Kamala Harris has that name ID.
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“She had people that follow her,” Jones explained, “and she is one of those people that can actually debate.”
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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.