A senior House Democrat said that former Vice President Joe Biden will run for president, according to a report released Tuesday.
Former Vice President Biden will run for president against President Donald Trump, according to a senior House Democrat lawmaker in the last week.
Biden reportedly called the House lawmaker and asked if he could discuss campaign strategy with the congressman and invited the member to sit down with him shortly. The former vice president also asked the lawmaker for his support, which the member did not say he could give at this time.
Biden and his wife, Jill, just came back from vacation in the Caribbean, where they allegedly discussed potential problems if he were to run for president.
Bill Russo, a Biden spokesman, said that the former Delaware senator has not announced his decision yet.
“He has not made a final decision. No change,” Russo said.
At an event with firefighters on Tuesday, Biden allegedly teased a presidential run as the crowded chanted, Run, Joe, run!”
“I appreciate the energy you all showed when I got up here,” Biden said at the International Association of Fire Fighters’ annual conference in Washington, D.C. “Save it a little longer, I may need it in a few weeks. Be careful what you wish for.”
A source familiar with Biden’s thinking suggested that Biden often likes to “check all boxes” before he officially announces his decision.
“He’s basically in. He’s just running the traps, as he says,” the source said.
Biden, 76-years-old and older than President Trump, could announce his third and final presidential bid as soon as the next couple weeks.
A recent Monmouth University poll had Biden leading Democrat presidential contenders at 28 percent, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in second at 25 percent, followed by Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) at ten percent, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at eight percent.
However, Biden’s age and moderate politics may serve as a disadvantage if he were to come into the Democrat presidential primary fray as many younger, more diverse, and more progressive candidates have embraced proposals such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
Biden’s team also recently hired Cristobal Alex, the former head of the Latino Victory Fund, who ran the controversial ad during the 2017 Virginia gubernatorial campaign which featured a white Donald Trump supporter attempting to run down minority children.
However, despite his lack of youth and progressive credentials, one Democrat senator told the Hill that he or she hopes that Biden runs, contending that the former vice president could help capture the American midwest in 2020.
“I love him,” the senator explained, “and think he’s got a unique ability to connect with Americans in the Rust Belt who feel left behind by government.”
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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