According to an exclusive report Tuesday by The Hill, former Vice President Joe Biden will run for president in 2020, where he will be the heavy early favorite to win the Democratic primary and face off against incumbent President Donald Trump.
Per The Hill:
“I’m giving it a shot,” Biden said matter-of-factly during a phone call with a House Democratic lawmaker within the past week — a conversation the congressman recounted to The Hill and interpreted as a sure sign that Biden will run in 2020.
In the brief phone call, the former vice president asked if he could bounce some campaign strategy ideas off the lawmaker and invited the lawmaker to sit down with him in person in the near future. Biden also said he hoped to have the lawmaker’s support, something the lawmaker did not commit to.
Biden responded that there was no harm if they keep talking, according to the lawmaker who spoke to The Hill on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the phone conversation.
Biden did not share any details about when or where he planned to make his formal presidential announcement, the lawmaker said. Biden and his wife, Jill, just returned from vacation in St. Croix in the Caribbean, where they reportedly discussed potential pitfalls and began finalizing their plans, The Associated Press reported.
Biden spokesman Bill Russo refuted the idea that the former vice president is absolutely running: “He has not made a final decision. No change.”
Biden, 76, held an event with firefighters Tuesday morning, teasing a 2020 bid as the crowd reportedly chanted, “Run, Joe, run!”
“I appreciate the energy you all showed when I got up here,” Biden told an energetic crowd 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.”
Biden’s entry into the race has been largely expected, and he already has a team of campaign aides in place for when he decides to officially announce his intentions, which is likely to be in early April.
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