Hours after Joe Biden announced that California junior Senator Kamala Harris would be his running mate for the 2020 presidential election, late night hosts finally shared their opinions on the news.
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert and The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah both noted Harris’ historical nomination, noting that she is the first Black woman to be a vice presidential candidate for either major political party.
“Congratulations to Kamala Harris she is now the first Black woman on a major party ticket, which is a great moment for her and for America,” Noah said during his show.
Colbert, while recognizing the importance of the announcement, poked fun at how Trump might be thinking of the news. “Trump’s gonna have a hard time deciding how exactly to be racist about her,” Colbert said referring to Harris’ mixed Black and Southeast Asian heritage. He quipped that the current president would ask to see “both of her birth certificates,” riffing off of Trump’s demands to see Barack Obama’s documents.
During his Tonight Show opening monologue, Jimmy Fallon also discussed the news. Also noting Harris’ historical nomination, Fallon discussed the vice presidential candidate’s background. He noted that she’s a children of immigrants, grew up in California and went to Howard University.
“It’s an inspiring story, unless you’re Trump. Then it’s a Stephen King novel,” Fallon joked.
While some of the hosts say that Biden choosing Harris as his running mate was not necessarily surprising, considering how vocal he has been about what he looks for in a potential veep, they also said they were shocked to hear the two were teaming up following their heated moment during a 2019 debate.
In June 2020, Harris and Biden feuded on number of issues including bussing and racism. At the following debate, Biden told Harris to “go easy” on him. Biden’s Tuesday announcement, given the context of the June 2019 moment, was not lost upon the late night hosts.
“I gotta say I’m impressed that Biden picked Kamala, even after she destroyed him at that debate. In fact part of me thinks that he picked her so that she can just never dust his ass in public again,” Noah said. “This isn’t a VP pick, it’s an insurance policy.”
Watch their full videos below.