Former Vice President Joe Biden pushed back against political observers who say the Democratic Party should seek a younger candidate in 2020.
In an interview Thursday with "PBS Newshour," Biden responded directly to a quote from former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean, who said earlier Thursday that older members of the party should "get the hell out of the way."
"Tell Howard I can take him physically, okay?" Biden joked. "This is about, you're going to be running against a man who's 75 years old, 76 years old. Whatever his age is."
"Look, it would be a totally legitimate thing for people to say, 'well, look at Biden, he would be the oldest guy to ever be president. Let's see what kind of shape he's in,'" he added. "And it may be that I've developed some problem and I'm not capable of doing that. [But] it's probably the least consequential of any election because of who you'd be running against, in all probability."
Biden has frequently floated running in 2020, telling news outlets for months that he has not made up his mind either way. The former vice president considered a 2016 run for the Democratic nomination, but eventually declined to run.
"I have a regret that I am not president, because I think there is so much opportunity," Biden told Oprah Winfrey in November.
"If I were offered the nomination by the Lord Almighty right now, today, I would say no because we're not ready, the family's not ready to do this," he added on "The View" in December. "If in a year from now, if we're ready and no one has moved in that I think can do it, then I may very well do it."
Original Article
Source: thehill.com
Author: John Bowden
In an interview Thursday with "PBS Newshour," Biden responded directly to a quote from former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean, who said earlier Thursday that older members of the party should "get the hell out of the way."
"Tell Howard I can take him physically, okay?" Biden joked. "This is about, you're going to be running against a man who's 75 years old, 76 years old. Whatever his age is."
"Look, it would be a totally legitimate thing for people to say, 'well, look at Biden, he would be the oldest guy to ever be president. Let's see what kind of shape he's in,'" he added. "And it may be that I've developed some problem and I'm not capable of doing that. [But] it's probably the least consequential of any election because of who you'd be running against, in all probability."
Biden has frequently floated running in 2020, telling news outlets for months that he has not made up his mind either way. The former vice president considered a 2016 run for the Democratic nomination, but eventually declined to run.
"I have a regret that I am not president, because I think there is so much opportunity," Biden told Oprah Winfrey in November.
"If I were offered the nomination by the Lord Almighty right now, today, I would say no because we're not ready, the family's not ready to do this," he added on "The View" in December. "If in a year from now, if we're ready and no one has moved in that I think can do it, then I may very well do it."
Original Article
Source: thehill.com
Author: John Bowden
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