The rapid speed of the 2016 presidential contest could outpace Vice President Joe Biden’s own emotional grappling with a run, he admitted to an interviewer last week.
Speaking to the Catholic “America” magazine in an interview released Monday, Biden acknowledged that his family’s readiness for a run couldn’t be rushed, even as key dates loom in the Democratic nominating calendar.
“It’s just not there yet and it may not get there in time to make it feasible to be able to run and succeed, because there are certain windows that will close,” Biden said. “But if that’s it, that’s it. It’s not like I can rush it.”
The self-proclaimed “end-of-summer” deadline that Biden established for himself will come and go this week without a presidential decision, his advisers concede, as the Vice President and his family continue to weigh their emotional willingness to join the race.
Once thought to be a hold-out, Dr. Jill Biden signaled support for a potential run in a statement from her office over the weekend — though she didn’t go so far as to say she was urging her husband to jump in.
“Of course Dr. Biden would be on board if her husband decides to run for president but they haven’t made that decision yet,” said her spokesman James Gleeson.
In the interview with “America,” Biden said his thinking on a run hadn’t changed since he last addressed the topic in an interview with Stephen Colbert two weeks ago.
“Everybody thinks it’s all about what the numbers say,” he said. “That’s a calculation about whether you think it’s possible.”
But while those numbers may push his supporters and advisers to advocate for a run, the only consideration Biden is weighing is his own family’s commitment to a third presidential bid.
“I’ve known almost every person that’s run for president since I’ve been 29 years old and it all gets down to personal considerations, because you have no right as an individual to decide to run,” he said. “Your whole family is implicated. Your whole family is engaged. So for us it’s a family decision.”