The White House said on Monday President Obama could endorse a candidate during the Democratic primary, furthering speculation that Vice President Joe Biden may throw his hat into the 2016 presidential race.
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of an endorsement during the Democratic primary,” press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday.
Until now, it was widely believed that the president would support the party’s frontrunner, Hillary Clinton. But as speculation about the possibility of a Biden run picks up steam, the question on everyone’s mind is, who will the president endorse?
Earnest didn’t say which candidate Obama would ultimately get behind. But reiterated that the President’s decision to pick Biden as his running mate “was the smartest decision that he’d ever made in politics.”
Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, both times dropping out relatively early. Obama then chose Biden, a former senator from Delaware, to be his running mate in 2008.
Biden is seriously considering entering the race for the Democratic nomination, as concerns about Clinton’s poll numbers and the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server mount.
Earnest said he expects the vice president to make a decision within the next month. He also cited the President’s “respect, appreciation and admiration” for Clinton.
Biden and Obama had lunch on Monday in their first face-to-face meeting since the vice president ramped up his efforts to explore a run for president.