前副总统乔·拜登的副总统审查程序似乎进入了最后阶段，因为这位民主党候选人已经开始对潜在候选人进行面试。
熟悉审查过程的消息来源证实前副总统上周日会见了密歇根州州长格雷琴·惠特默，这是拜登和副总统候选人之间的首次会面。
飞行记录显示，一架私人飞机于上周日晚离开兰辛首都区机场，抵达特拉华州海岸机场——距离拜登在特拉华州雷霍伯海滩的海滩之家约30分钟路程。当天晚上晚些时候，一架返程航班返回兰辛。
消息来源证实，拜登至少会见了一名其他候选人，但没有提供与谁会面或会面时间的更多细节。
当被问及对与密歇根州州长会面的评论时，拜登竞选团队的发言人拒绝置评。
惠特莫尔的发言人也拒绝参与报道，他告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我们不讨论州长的个人日程安排。”
关于拜登将选择谁作为他的竞选伙伴的猜测已经达到了狂热的程度副总统搜索随着民主党全国代表大会的临近，这可能是最后一周了。
周六下午，这位前副总统似乎玩得很开心，对自己的决定充满期待。开玩笑地告诉一名男记者，他已经下定决心，选择了这名记者作为他的竞选伙伴。
拜登承诺选择女性竞选伙伴在三月份的最后一次民主党初选辩论中，他面临着选择一位有色人种女性作为候选人的压力。在这种压力下，南卡罗来纳州重新赢得了竞选，部分原因是来自非裔美国选民的强烈支持，而乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)于今年5月在明尼阿波利斯警方拘留所被杀后，针对种族不平等的全国性抗议加剧了这种压力。
虽然拜登在副总统公告中设定的几个最后期限时断时续，但拜登一直承诺在大会前做出决定，大会现在被安排在8月17日至8月20日举行，几乎完全是虚拟活动。
拜登的竞选团队似乎也在急切地等待他的决定，一旦她被宣布，他们已经和拜登及其副总统一起发起了一场联合草根筹款活动。活动的日期和时间尚未确定。
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met with Biden amid VP selection process
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s vice presidential vetting process appears to be entering its final stages, as the presumptive Democratic nominee has begun to hold interviews with prospective candidates.
A source familiar with the vetting process confirms that theformer vice presidentmet with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last Sunday, marking the first known meeting between Biden and a vice presidential candidate.
Flight records show a private plane departed Lansing’s Capital Region Airport last Sunday evening and arrived in Delaware Coastal Airport -- about 30 minutes from Biden’s beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. A return flight landed back in Lansing late that same evening.
Biden has met with at least one other candidate, the source confirmed, but did not provide further details about who the meeting was with or when it took place.
When asked for comment on the meeting with the Michigan governor, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Whitmer also declined to weigh in on the report, telling ABC News “We don't discuss the governor's personal schedule.”
Speculation around who Biden will choose to serve as his running mate has hit a fever pitch as hisvice presidential searchenters what is likely its last week, with the Democratic National Convention fast approaching.
The former vice president appeared to have some fun Saturday afternoon with the intense anticipation of his decision,jokinglytelling a male reporter that he had made up his mind and had chosen the reporter as his running mate.
Biden committed tochoosing a female running mateduring the final Democratic primary debate in March and has faced pressure to choose a woman of color to join him on the ticket throughout the vetting process. That pressure follows a campaign-reviving win in South Carolina due in part to strong support from African American voters and has been compounded by nationwide protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody in May.
While several deadlines laid out by Biden on his vice presidential announcement have come and gone, Biden has consistently committed to having a decision before the convention, which is now slated to be an almost entirely virtual event held from Aug. 17 to Aug. 20.
Biden’s campaign also appears to be eagerly awaiting his decision, already promoting a joint grassroots fundraiser with Biden and his vice president, once she is announced. No date or time has been given for the event.
