Former Vice President Joe Biden still holds the top spot in most of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary polls, but he recently admitted that he’s not even “quite sure” he’d be running if it weren’t for President Donald Trump.
Would Joe Biden be running for the White House if Donald Trump weren’t president? “Um, I’m not sure, to be quite honest with you,” he said. “I hadn’t planned on running again.” https://t.co/VEB4zeg74x
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) September 3, 2019
Biden’s entire purpose in the 2020 race appears more dedicated to getting rid of Trump than to any of his own personal aspirations toward the White House, according to a report from the New York Times.
“How badly do you want to be president?” a reporter asked Biden as he stumped in Prole, Iowa — and the former veep responded with an answer that was more focused on how badly he wanted the current White House occupant to be removed.
“I think it’s really, really, really important that Donald Trump not be re-elected … Could I die happily not having heard ‘Hail to the Chief’ play for me? Yeah, I could. That’s not why I’m running,” Biden explained.
Biden muddied the waters further when asked whether he would even be running in this primary if Trump was not the assumed 2020 Republican candidate. “Um, I’m not sure, to be quite honest with you. I hadn’t planned on running again,” he said. (RELATED: Biden Asks Crowd To Imagine If Barack Obama Had Been Assassinated)
Andrew Clark, Rapid Response Director for the Trump 2020 campaign, suggested that could explain why people weren’t getting fired up about Biden’s campaign.
Reagan 1980: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
Obama 2008: “Yes we can.”
Trump 2016: “Make America great again.”
Biden 2020: “Um, I’m not sure, to be quite honest with you.” https://t.co/pyJiEqVjs4
— Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) September 3, 2019