Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday his family voted in support of another run for president in 2020.
“From being pushed, prodded by my son Hunter, and my wife Jill, and my daughter, we just had a family meeting with all the grandkids too, and there is a consensus that they, the most important people in my life, want me to run,” Biden said.
Biden discussed a possible run for president during a four-hour conversation with historian Jon Meacham on Wednesday. He said that his children and grandchildren were not “naive” about facing public campaign scrutiny.
“The first hurdle for me was deciding whether or not I am comfortable taking the family through what would be a very, very difficult campaign,” Biden said.
Hunter Biden went through a nasty divorce in 2017 with his wife, was discharged from the Navy after testing positive for cocaine, and had an affair with his late brother Beau’s widow.
In 2017, Biden’s niece pled guilty in 2017 to a $110,000 credit-account theft at a New York City drugstore and was charged in 2013 for striking a New York City Police officer.
Biden said that the Democratic primary would be difficult as well as a general election campaign against President Donald Trump.
“I don’t think that he’s likely to stop at anything, whoever he runs against,” Biden said of Trump.
Biden said he was also making sure he was prepared to win before deciding to run for president. The 76-year-old former vice president unsuccessfully ran for president in 1987 and 2007 before running with Senator Barack Obama in 2008.
“I don’t want this to be a fool’s errand, and I want to make sure that if we do this, and we’re very close to making a decision, that I am fully prepared to do it,” he said.
He admitted that running for president had changed since he and former President Barack Obama ran for president as a result of social media.
“The whole issue of social media and the use of social media has fundamentally changed,” Biden said.
He said that he was currently hosting meetings about whether he could fund a campaign realistically.
“I will not be part of a Super PAC,” Biden said as the crowd applauded.
He said he was also searching whether there was a diverse staff available that he could hire including black, Latino, female, and Asian professionals.
Biden then referenced current polls showing him leading the Democratic primary.
“We’re also taking a hard look at whether or not this alleged appeal that I have, how deep does it run? Is it real?” he said.
Biden indicated that he was nearly ready to announce a decision.
“I have not made the final decision, but don’t be surprised,” he said.
Via Breitbart
