Joe Biden gave his strongest hint yet he's leaning toward running in 2020
- Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday said he believes he's "the most qualified person in the country to be president."
- "The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I've worked on my whole life," Biden said an event.
- Biden conceded he has a tendency to be a "gaffe machine," but in a reference to President Donald Trump said that's still much better "compared to a guy who can't tell the truth."
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday provided perhaps the strongest indication yet he is leaning toward running for president in 2020.
At an event for his book tour in Missoula, Montana, on Monday night, Biden called himself the "most qualified person in the country to be president." The crowd cheered.
"The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I've worked on my whole life," he said.
The former vice president pointed to his lifelong experience in politics, contending even his critics would acknowledge he knows a great deal about "the issues that are the most consequential relating to the plight of the middle class and our foreign policy."
The moderator of the event, Bruce Feiler, pointed out some of Biden's characteristics and history that would likely face criticism if he ran, including his age (he's 76), his connection to the Anita Hill hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and his propensity for making gaffes.
Biden conceded he has a tendency to be a "gaffe machine," but in a reference to President Donald Trump said that's still much better "compared to a guy who can't tell the truth."
"Whether or not I run, whoever runs, I'm going to break my neck to make sure they win," Biden said. "We can't have four more years."
Biden said he's in discussions with his family regarding whether he'll run and said they'll have to decide together. The former vice president said a decision would likely be announced in the next six to eight weeks.
Polls have shown Biden would have a good shot of defeating Trump if he ran.
The former vice president's association with former President Barack Obama, who remains a popular figure nationwide, and appeal to white working-class voters have placed him at the top of the shortlist for the Democratic nomination in 2020.
Biden has teased at running in 2020 several times already, but this marked perhaps his most detailed discussion yet on his presidential ambitions. He ran a failed campaign for president in 1988 as a young Delaware senator. Twenty years later, he became vice president as part of Obama's ticket after running for the presidency again.
He flirted heavily with another bid in 2016 but ultimately decided against running, a move he has said he regrets.