Former Senator Ted Kaufman, Biden’s former chief of staff, says he will encourage his longtime friend to run for President in 2016.
“I’m sure I’m going to be telling to him take a look at 2016,” Kaufman, who filled the Delaware Senate seat after Biden was elected Vice President in 2008, told BuzzFeed, but said any determination will have to wait until at earliest next year.
“He should consider 2016 in 2013,” Kaufman said. “The next six months are incredibly intense. He’s totally focused on the next six months right now.”
As early as last May, Biden floated the possibility of running for president in 2016, asking donors to keep him in mind, Politico reported at the time.
Kaufman said Biden’s relationships with foreign leaders, ties to the middle class, and bipartisan friendships on Capitol Hill were what made him a great vice presidential pick and will make him a great presidential candidate.
“Would someone please suggest something he should not be doing,” Kaufman recalled thinking after Biden took on a portfolio that included the stimulus and the winding-down of the Iraq war.