Demings: ‘I would be honored’ to serve as Biden’s vice president

Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) said Wednesday that she would be “honored” to serve as former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate as speculation swirls around a number of potential Democratic vice presidential nominees.

“If asked, I would be honored to serve alongside Joe Biden and do everything in my power to get this country back on track, not just here in the nation, but around the world,” Demings said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Demings slammed President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that Americans do not have a leader they can trust at the moment.

“I have dedicated my life to public service and having served as a social worker, a career law enforcement officer, police chief, and now a member of Congress, I chose tough jobs,” Demings said. “As I look at the condition of our country, and the absolute lack of leadership, at the very least we ought to have a leader we can trust.”

“We don’t have that right now,” she added. 

Demings, a former Orlando police chief, endorsed Biden in March, citing what she said was his experience “in the trenches fighting for those things that are important to the American people.”

Biden pledged in March to choose a woman as his running mate. Demings, along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, are among the women Biden is thought to be considering for the position.

A CBS News poll released Monday showed 71 percent of Democratic voters saying Biden should consider Warren for the spot, while Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) came in at 59 percent. Half of the respondents said he should consider Abrams, and 17 percent said he should consider Demings.