Former Vice President Joe Biden officially launched his 2020 campaign Thursday morning after months of speculation. While he may be at the top of most public opinion polls, he hasn’t gotten an endorsement from the man he served alongside for eight years—former President Barack Obama.
Obama’s spokeswoman Katie Hill offered kind words about Biden but there was no endorsement.
“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” she said. “He relied on the Vice President’s knowledge, insight and judgment, throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.”
Obama is not offering an endorsement of the man who chose to be his running mate - https://t.co/Qotb1MRZDy
— Rick Klein (@rickklein) April 25, 2019
Top Obama adviser David Axelrod cautioned against reading too much into the statement.
“The custom for former presidents is not to endorse presidents. The expectation that he would, I find kind of baffling,” he said, Politico reports.
RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel said, however, that the lack of an endorsement was a signal he should not be running for a third time.
Joe Biden has no business running for president again.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 25, 2019
Just ask President Obama, who’s chosen *not* to endorse his right-hand man.
Biden has been losing presidential bids for decades – 2020 won’t be any different.