Amid Biden Buzz, White House Won’t Rule Out Obama Endorsement of a Primary Candidate

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said he “wouldn’t rule out” President Barack Obama making an endorsement in the Democratic presidential primary as speculation grows that his vice president might step up to challenge his former secretary of state.

President Barack Obama had lunch with Biden at the White House Monday, two days after Biden’s meeting with Sen. Elizabeth Warren fueled speculation the vice president was moving closer to entering the 2016 presidential race. The lunch meeting is a weekly occurrence between the two, but reporters peppered Earnest about what the two might have talked about.

AP

“Ultimately it will be Democratic voters who are responsible for choosing the Democratic nominee, but I wouldn’t speculate at this point whether or not the president would offer an endorsement,” Earnest said. Pressed on the matter, he said, “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of an endorsement in the Democratic primary. I am confident the president will endorse the Democratic nominee in the general election.”

Earnest was cautious, but reiterated Obama “has indicated his view that the decision that he made, I guess seven years ago now, to add Joe Biden to the ticket as his running mate was the smartest decision that he’d ever made in politics.” Asked if it was a better decision than choosing Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state in the first term, Earnest referred to “warm comments” the president has had for Clinton.

“I would not describe the president as torn, principally because this is a personal decision that someone has to make to decide to run for president,” Earnest said.

If Biden makes a late entry into the race, he would have a considerable disadvantage, with Clinton holding a big lead in polls and fundraising — though she continues to face questions about her private email server.

Earnest noted that August is a tough time to predict who the nominee will be.

“As someone who worked on President Obama’s campaign in 2007 and 2008, I recall pretty vividly August of 2007,” Earnest said. “I think it’s fair to say there was not a ton of confidence in the likelihood that then-Senator Barack Obama would be elected the next president of the United States. So, I think what I would do is warn people against drawing conclusions at such an early stage.”