Biden’s chief of staff pick called himself a ‘soldier’ in NARAL's abortion 'army'
Former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen an outspoken pro-abortion activist to serve as his White House chief of staff should he end up assuming the presidency in 2021 as many media outlets have projected.
Last week, the 77-year-old Biden announced that he would tap Ron Klain, who had previously worked as chief of staff to Al Gore and Biden during their respective vice presidencies, to serve as his chief of staff.
Over the years, Klain has repeatedly heaped praise on the pro-abortion movement and questioned the legitimacy of both the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections.
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In a series of tweets he sent out in 2018 and 2019, Klain voiced his admiration for pro-abortion activists and organizations.
In June 2018, shortly after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, Klain took to Twitter to ask people to follow “our great leaders.” One of the “great leaders” cited by Klain is Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, a prominent pro-choice advocacy organization.
People have asked about the SCOTUS fight. Start by following our great leaders: @Sifill_LDF@neeratanden@brianefallon@ilyseh.
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) June 28, 2018
Nearly a year later, Hogue made her respect for Klain clear in a tweet thanking the political operative for “always being such a vocal leader in these issues," referring to his support for the pro-choice movement.
Klain responded by declaring himself “a soldier in your army.” Hogue’s tweet of appreciation came in response to a Washington Post op-ed Klain wrote in August 2018 during the nomination process for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, proclaiming that “Reversing Roe v. Wade will be just the beginning.”
Just a soldier in your army @ilyseh
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) May 15, 2019
Later in 2019, Klain tweeted out a picture of himself standing alongside Hogue and other pro-choice activists as they celebrated the 50th anniversary of NARAL, previously known as the National Abortion Rights Action League.
He described his opportunity to “discuss the need to protect reproductive freedom through the courts and judicial nominations” with Hogue and NARAL as “an honor.”
It was an honor to join @ilyseh & @NARAL to mark #NARAL50 and discuss the need to protect reproductive freedom through the courts and judicial nominations. https://t.co/hdpag0R4mx
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) September 26, 2019
Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, pro-life groups warned that the Biden-Harris ticket would be the “most pro-abortion ticket” in American history.
The former vice president has signaled his intention to issue executive orders rolling back the Trump administration’s pro-life initiatives and promised to codify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, into federal law.
In addition to displaying steadfast support for the pro-choice movement, Klain has also raised questions about the legitimacy of previous presidential elections.
The Washington Examiner highlighted Klain’s work on behalf of the Democrat Gore in the hotly contested 2000 presidential election, explaining that Klain has repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2000 election, insisting that Gore should have beaten (President George W.) Bush.”
In one tweet, from June 2011, Klain remarked that “only one sitting VP since Civil War has been elected Pres: Bush 88 … unless you also count Gore 2000.”
This past August, Klain tweeted out a piece in The Atlantic, where he was quoted as saying of the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court decision and the 2000 presidential election: “I am not over it. I don’t think I’ll ever be over it.”
Klain expressed the same level of skepticism about the results of the 2016 presidential election. Like the 2000 presidential election, the person who received the most votes nationwide did not win the presidency in 2016.
Democrat Hillary Clinton received roughly 3 million more votes than President Donald Trump. But Trump became president because he received more votes in the Electoral College.
In 2017, Klain tweeted that “Hillary Clinton has serious competition from Al Gore for the ‘most screwed over’ crown.”
Should Klain assume the role of chief of staff in a Biden White House next year, the coronavirus pandemic will be one of the most pressing issues the administration will have to deal with.
From his time working in the executive branch, Klain has experience working to address pandemics. He served as the White House Ebola response coordinator during the 2014 outbreak.
In May 2019, Klain spoke at a Pandemic and Biosecurity Policy Summit where he recalled that while “a bunch of really talented people” were working on the Obama administration’s response to the H1N1 pandemic that broke out 10 years earlier, they “did every possible thing wrong.”
“Sixty million Americans got H1N1 in that period of time and it’s just purely a fortuity that this isn’t one of the greatest mass casualty events in American history," he said. "It had nothing to do with us doing anything right, it just had to do with luck."
