Politico was forced to issue an apology on Tuesday after it “accidentally” published a story that said presidential candidate Joe Biden had chosen Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as his running mate.
“Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris to become his running mate for the 2020 election on Aug. 1, two weeks before the Democratic National Convention, after keeping his choice close to the chest for months,” Politico wrote in the now-deleted report.
The report even quoted Biden, in which he called Harris a “worthy opponent and a worthy running mate.”
“She will bring her experience as a prosecutor, household name recognition, and skill as a debater to the ticket,” Politico added.
Huh?
Politico labeled Sen. Kamala Harris as Biden’s running mate… that he chose on August 1 (4 days from now).https://t.co/M3dhmIwZ7o pic.twitter.com/99GDHzWPnL
— Mark Bednar (@MarkBednar) July 28, 2020
Brad Dayspring, Politico’s vice president of marketing and communication, claimed that a pre-write had been accidentally published, and that the quote from Biden was not actually a quote at all.
“For a brief period yesterday afternoon, placeholder text was mistakenly published to the site,” Dayspring told The Hill. “Our standard practice is to use ‘lorem ipsum’ as placeholder text. In this instance, that did not happen. We regret the error and any confusion that it caused.”
But just a few hours later, a photographer for the Associated Press captured an image of Biden’s note pad before he began taking questions from reporters at a campaign event. On the note pad was a line that said Harris’s name, and below that: “Do not hold grudges,” “Campaigned with me & Jill,” is “talented,” and has been “a great help to [the campaign].”
“Biden held notes that were captured by an AP photographer. Harris’ name was scrawled across the top, followed by five talking points.
“Do not hold grudges.” “Campaigned with me & Jill.” “Talented.” “Great help to campaign.” “Great respect for her.” https://t.co/OnNNNxoW1e
— Michael Tackett (@tackettdc) July 29, 2020
Biden’s campaign did not comment on his notes, but reiterated that the former vice president will not announce his running mate until the first week of August.
Harris has been seen by some Democrats as a frontrunner for the position, but it is also well-known that she’s been digging up dirt and planting negative stories about her opponents in various publications.
