Biden aides prepping for 2020 run: report

Former Vice President Joe Biden is moving closer to a 2020 run for president, with close aides telling Politico that they are preparing for a number of scenarios ahead of a possible campaign announcement.

Politico reports that a close circle of Biden aides is preparing for several 2020 scenarios, including Biden announcing his candidacy early enough to set the field of challengers around him or late enough to skip the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Another option could reportedly be running on the promise of a one-term presidency. 

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The former vice president is “thinking through a million unconventional options, because there is an acknowledgment that this could be an unconventional campaign,” one person close to the discussions said.

According to the news site, Biden has spent recent months watching the Trump administration with dismay and with aides telling him that he has the experience and credibility needed to mount a challenge to Trump in 2020.

“Looking at the environment, it’s hard for someone who’s spent his life in public service to say, ‘I don’t think I can play any role in fixing this,’” said a source close to the meetings.

But Biden, who met with major donor Robert Wolf recently as speculation about his plans swirls around Washington, is actively dissuading aides and donors from speculating about his 2020 plans, urging Democrats instead to focus on retaking majorities in this year’s midterm elections.

“He was very clear that he didn’t want the narrative to be about him running in 2020,” Wolf told Politico of their meeting. “He shut it down very quickly.”

The former vice president mulled a run in 2016, but eventually declined.