Clyburn: Biden needs VP pick who has ‘a lot of passion’

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a top ally to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, said the former vice president needs to pick a running mate who has “a lot of passion.” 

Speaking on MSNBC, Clyburn said a passionate candidate could complement Biden’s compassion and help motivate voters to cast their ballots in November. 

“Joe Biden is a guy full of compassion. He has much more compassion than he exhibits passion. So he needs a running mate with a lot of passion to connect to voters. Biden has the greatest heart that I’ve ever encountered in politics. He is not a ‘rah rah’ guy that will motivate people. But he is the kind of guy you want to help put the policy together,” he said.

WATCH: As Joe Biden prepares to announce his VP pic, Rep. @ClyburnSC06 (D-S.C.) says: “[Biden] has much more compassion than he exhibits passion. So he needs a running mate with a lot of passion.” pic.twitter.com/HkQ7SjCuMo

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 31, 2020

The remarks come in the final days of Biden’s search for a running mate, whom he said he would announce in the first week of August.

Among the candidates Biden is known to be considering, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Val Demings (D-Fla.) and former national security adviser Susan Rice are reportedly on the list.  

Speculation over who Biden would tap to be his No. 2 has hit a fever pitch, with several reports casting Harris as a front-runner for the job but also maintaining that contenders like Duckworth, Bass and Rice are still very much in the running.

When asked if it was more important to pick a governing partner or a campaigning partner, Clyburn said “the first thing you’ve got to do is get elected.”

“So at this point in time, I’m thinking the former vice president needs to go about the business of doing the polling that’s necessary to see who would complement the ticket, do the kind of vetting that’s necessary to make sure you don’t have any distractions, and then let his head and heart take a look at this issue so that he can get to where he says is ‘simpatico.’ That, to me, is what’s important,” he said, adding that he likes all the contenders Biden is considering.