Biden's campaign reportedly asked potential running mates to think about nicknames Trump might give them

Kamala Harris.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

As part of former Vice President Joe Biden's vetting process for potential running mates, he asked them to use their imaginations and think of the different nicknames President Trump might use against them, campaign officials told The Wall Street Journal.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, picked Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on Tuesday. In the final days before he made his choice, Biden's team interviewed 11 other possible candidates, including Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). Before that, there were more than 20 people in the running, the Journal reports, and one of the questions they were all asked was, "What do you think Trump's nickname for you will be?"

Warren already knew the answer, as Trump has called her "Pocahontas" numerous times, and he has also referred to Whitmer as "the woman in Michigan." The campaign officials didn't reveal how Harris answered the question, but shortly after Biden broke the news of her selection, the Trump campaign dubbed her "Phony Kamala."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.