Long-time Democratic political operative John Podesta, who is chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, says the prospect of a White House bid by Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t concern him.
"Am I nervous? No," Podesta told a group of reporters after speaking at the Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas on Monday, according to
Politico.
Podesta previously served as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and as an adviser to President Barack Obama.
In his remarks, Podesta, according to Politico, was "careful not to criticize the vice president, instead shifting his message toward what he said were the benefits of Clinton’s candidacy."
He denied that Clinton donors are increasingly concerned about the snowballing investigation of the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server during her tenure.
"Our fundraising is doing very well," Podesta said. "I saw an anonymous comment in one of the stories about a donor, but so far I think we’ve had a very enthusiastic response to her candidacy. You can go around and find an anonymous donor to say something about anything. But I think that we feel very good where we are."
During a Monday press briefing, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that he "wouldn’t rule out" the possibility of President
Obama endorsing his second in command during the Democratic primary, according to the New York Daily News, which also reported that over the weekend Biden met with progressive Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Washington.
"I’ll just say that the vice president is somebody who has already run for president twice. He’s been on a national ticket through two election cycles now, both in 2008 and in the re-election of 2012," Earnest said.
"So I think you could make the case that there is probably no one in American politics today who has a better understanding of exactly what is required to mount a successful national presidential campaign."
Biden’s office announced on Monday that Kate Bedingfield, a former spokeswoman for John Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign, has been hired.
The Daily News reports that if he wins, Biden, 72, would be the oldest person ever elected to a first term. President Ronald Reagan was nearly 70 when sworn in the first time.
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