Top Senate Dems mum on Biden run

by Jordain Carney - 09/10/15 5:57 PM ET

The Senate’s top two Democrats said Thursday that they haven’t heard from Vice President Biden about a potential presidential run.

“He’s never talked to me about his running for president. Last time I talked to Joe was the day after the funeral” of Biden’s son Beau, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. “He’ll call me when he wants to. I feel it would totally be inappropriate for me to call, ‘hey Joe what you gonna do.'”

{mosads}Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) added that Biden “hasn’t called me.”

Their comments come amid growing speculation about whether Biden will enter the presidential race as former secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to be dogged by questions about her use of a private email server.

A Monmouth University poll earlier this week showed the vice president gaining ground on Clinton nationally. Though Clinton led Biden by 20 percentage points, the vice president leapfrogged over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) without having actually entered the race.

Biden road tested his message during a Labor Day trip to Pittsburgh. But, the vice president has remained largely tight-lipped about his 2016 intentions, saying earlier this year that he wasn’t sure he had the “emotional fuel” for a campaign after the death his son Beau.

Durbin, referencing those comments, added that “after what he’s been through, repeatedly, it’s understandable that he would think first of his family and what it would mean to them.”

Both Democratic senators offered praise for Biden.

“I don’t know anybody I’ve met in or out of public life that has the heart, the compassion of Joe Biden,” Durbin said. “No one.”

He added that he would “respect and love” Biden regardless of his 2016 decision.

But Reid—who called Biden a “good guy”—was also careful to praise the party’s other 2016 candidates. He cited his “great affection” for the Clintons, called former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley a “good man,” and said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been a “value” to the Democratic caucus.

“I’m not lurching into this as to what Joe Biden should do, what the others should do,” he added.

Tags Hillary Clinton Joe Biden