#Biden family gathered over weekend to discuss VP finalists

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden spent the weekend huddled with family in his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home narrowing down his choices for a running mate.

The former vice president was spotted in and around his Delaware beach house throughout the weekend, even taking a bike ride where he quipped to a Fox News reporter that he had chosen him as his running mate. The Biden campaign later clarified that this was, in fact, a joke.

The trip was planned as far back as last Monday, according to NBC News, which reported then that Biden had planned the weekend to go through vetting materials and get the list of candidates down to “three or four.”

Biden has never made a major political decision without a family meeting, one adviser told the network. The adviser said that the input of Biden’s family on a running mate would be as important to him as it was when he was deciding whether to run.

The adviser described the family gatherings for such serious discussions as typical for the Biden’s, taking place with everyone gathered around the dinner table.

The former vice president has previously said that he would announce his running mate within the first week of August.

Despite this, aides, surrogates and other campaign officials have long said that Biden’s only real deadline is the Democratic National Convention, which starts on August 17.

This aligns with Biden’s past of ignoring self-imposed deadlines on bigger political decisions. The former vice president missed deadline after deadline in early 2019 while deciding whether or not to enter the 2020 race.

As dozens of candidates spent the first months of 2019 entering the crowded primary field, Biden held off until late April.

During that time, he organized a team of staff and sketched out top positions, according to The Atlantic.

Staffers were told that if he made the decision to run, they needed “to be ready to go with a moment’s notice,” the outlet reported at the time, more than two months before Biden entered the race.

Despite the fact that Biden has passed another self-imposed deadline for his running mate pick, his campaign is preparing for her arrival.

The team is currently organizing a high-dollar fundraising event to go with the announcement, which will be billed as “Introducing our Running Mate,” according to an event invitation obtained by Politico.

For $100,000 or more, individuals will be invited to attend a pre-event meet and greet, though it is not clear how that will work in a virtual capacity.

Fundraiser details “will be sent to all confirmed participants 24-48 hours prior to the event,” according to the invitation.

Top Democratic donors shouldn’t expect an invitation just yet, however. A source familiar with the vice presidential selection process told Fox News last week that Biden would like to use the next week or two to “spend some time” with the finalists.