Former Vice President Joe Biden unveiled a new political action committee on Thursday, spurring speculation that he may run for president in 2020.
Biden announced the new PAC — American Possibilities — in a series of tweets:
Our politics has become too small and petty. We’re better than this.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 1, 2017
It’s time to remember who we are as Americans: Giving EVERYONE the opportunity to achieve the impossible.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 1, 2017
America is at its best when we’re OPTIMISTIC and we THINK BIG.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 1, 2017
There’s no one better positioned on Earth to lead the world in the 21st century than America. We just have to believe it.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 1, 2017
There’s no one better positioned on Earth to lead the world in the 21st century than America. We just have to believe it.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 1, 2017
The New York Times noted that the PAC will give Biden “a platform” to continue to influence the Democratic Party, as well as promote causes and candidates he supports. The PAC also indicates that Biden isn’t planning on a quiet retirement, and will remain active in politics.
Biden has not indicated what his plans are for 2020, although he has not ruled out the possibility of a run for the White House.
The former vice president ruled out a 2016 presidential bid after the death of his son, Beau Biden, in 2015. Biden’s eldest son died after a battle with brain cancer at the age of 46.
In a statement on American Possibilities’ website, Biden said, “We are the nation that built the Hoover Dam and the Transcontinental Railroad. Landed a man on the moon. Cured polio. Built the internet. Sequenced the human genome. And we will be the nation to end cancer as we know it.”
“This is the history of the journey of this country: It’s one of ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” he said:
I believe that as much today as I did when I got elected to the United States Senate as a 29-year-old kid. But we have to remember who we are. At our best, America has always thought big. That’s why the negativity, the pettiness, the small-mindedness of our politics today drives me crazy. We’re better than this.It’s time to reach deep into the soul of this country and once again give everyone — and I mean everyone — the opportunity to achieve the impossible. It’s time to look beyond 24-hour news cycles and 140-character arguments. It’s time to treat each other with dignity and respect. Not as opponents, but as fellow Americans. Because that’s what we are.
This is a time for big dreams and American possibilities. If that’s what you believe — and you’re ready to help elect folks who believe that, and to support groups and causes that embody that spirit — then I’m asking you to join me today.
Biden has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, but has also criticized former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for what he saw as her failure to reach out to working-class voters.
“I never thought she was a great candidate,” Biden said during remarks at a conference last month. “I thought I was a great candidate."
If elected, Joe Biden would be 78 years old when he assumed office, which would make him the oldest person ever to win a presidential election, eclipsing the mark set by Ronald Reagan, who was 73 when he won re-election in 1984. Incumbent President Donald Trump will turn 74 during the course of the 2020 campaign if he runs for re-election.
