Biden said to announce imminently whether he’ll run
Senior Senate Democrat 'not sure' vice president can beat Hillary Clinton in Democratic primary race
US Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce whether he will run for president in the next day or two, according to NBC News.
Biden has been considering a presidential run for several months, with rumors of his imminent decision intruding regularly in the Democratic primaries, which are currently dominated by front-runner Hillary Clinton and main challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“Biden’s public schedule gives little indication of his decision,” NBC notes. “He traveled from his home in Delaware to Washington Monday morning, where he will address a climate change summit this afternoon.”
But according to a source quoted by the network, Biden told International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger on Friday that he was considering running.
“Biden said he was strongly considering running and was trying to gauge the support of unions,” the network said, citing a source.
Sen. Dick Durbin said Monday he was not sure Biden could win the Democratic nomination if he enters the race now.
Calls within the party for Biden to run have been fueled by concerns over Clinton’s email controversy and declining popularity. Her strong debate performance last week dampened some of that talk.
Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, was asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday whether Biden could win the nomination by jumping in now. Durbin said he was “not sure… I would say at this point he has not had the starting structure” that Clinton has.
Durbin said Clinton “has a long history of controversy and I think that turns some people off.” But he said Clinton is “still the strongest candidate for president.”