Joe Biden 2020 could actually happen

Biden gets candid about his political aspirations and his son Beau's death.
 By 
Nicole Gallucci
 on 
Joe Biden 2020 could actually happen
Former VP Joe Biden presenting the 2017 Liberty Medal to Sen. John McCain. Credit: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

Joe Biden is moving forward after the death of his son Beau, but it doesn't sound like he's ready to put the White House behind him just yet.

The former vice president caught up with Vanity Fair's David Kamp to chat about his upcoming book, Promise Me, Dad, in which he writes about his family and life after the White House. Perhaps most notably, Obama's BFF straight up said he's not ruling out a 2020 presidential run.

"I haven’t decided to run, but I’ve decided I’m not going to decide not to run," Biden said when Kamp asked about 2020. "We’ll see what happens."

Earlier in the interview Biden revealed that though he had fully planned to run for president in 2016, the heartbreaking death of his 46-year-old son Beau left him reeling, and he ultimately withdrew himself from the race.

Had his son not been battling brain cancer, Biden would have run without question, he told Vanity Fair. "I had planned on running, and I wasn’t running against Hillary or Bernie or anybody else. Honest to God, I thought that I was the best suited for the moment to be president."

Biden also said Beau had been the biggest supporter of his potential candidacy. "At one point he said it was my obligation to run, my duty," he wrote in his book. "Duty was a word Beau Biden did not use lightly."

"At one point he said it was my obligation to run, my duty."

But, after learning Beau had Stage IV glioblastoma, the VP felt it'd be best to put the campaign planning on hold.

Biden explained to Vanity Fair that he'd been unable to commit to the necessary rigorous speech schedule. In addition, President Obama hinted that he should sit the 2016 election out because he felt Clinton's organization was ready.

Now that Biden has had some time to himself and a chance to see Trump running the White House, things could be different. That's not to say he wouldn't have a few factors working against him.

Some fiercely talented candidates are being considered for 2020, like Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker — not to mention there's still a chance Oprah Winfrey could run. Biden will also be 78 years old not long after the 2020 election, so age may be a deterrent.

There are plenty of things to seriously consider, but we'll be able to gain more insight into Biden's life when Promise Me, Dad is published on Nov. 14.

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.

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