Joe Biden has insisted that under no circumstances would he have agreed to replace Hillary Clinton last year as the Democratic presidential nominee running against Donald Trump.
The former US vice-president was asked about the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Donna Brazile’s book, Hacks, which says she considered replacing Clinton with Biden because of health concerns, particularly after the nominee suffered a fainting spell at a 9/11 anniversary commemoration in New York.
Biden told NBC’s Today show on Monday: “I give you my word, the first time I or any of my staff heard of anything about that was in the book, number one. And number two, I would never have taken it.”
He added: “I was for Hillary. I did 83 campaign events for Hillary. I think I can say I did more events and worked as hard for Hillary as anyone else. She would have been a first-rate president.”
The explosive decision to remove Clinton would not have been Brazile’s alone. It would ultimately have rested with the DNC after consultation with Democratic leaders in Congress and Democratic governors.
But Biden said while he supported the nominee, he worried about her prospects. Not long before the election, he added, “it hit me like a ton of bricks, there was no discussion of issues” in her campaign.
Analysts have suggested with hindsight that Biden, who served eight years under Barack Obama, might have fared better than Clinton in crucial “rust belt” states because of his blue-collar background and direct, pugnacious speaking style.
Both Obama and Biden remained relatively quiet for the first six months of the Trump administration, which Biden has explained was out of respect and a willingness to give it time. But since early October both men have become more outspoken and critical, fuelling speculation that Biden might mount a campaign for president in 2020.
In a separate interview with Snapchat, set to be released on Tuesday and previewed to the Associated Press, Biden said he was open to another run if “no one steps up” to lead the Democratic attempt to unseat Trump, who is 71.
“I’ve done it a long time,” the 74-year-old said. Having run for president in 1988 and 2008, he said, he was “just not sure it’s the appropriate thing for me to do” one more time. “I’m not doing anything to run,” he said. “I’m not taking names, I’m not raising money, I’m not talking to anybody, but something’s got to happen.”
The list of Democrats said to be considering a White House run has swelled well into double digits, emboldened by Trump’s historically low poll numbers. Other notable potential contenders include Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Biden has launched political and policy organisations since leaving the Obama administration, including the Biden Foundation, formed to advocate for his domestic priorities. The Snapchat interview was conducted alongside the Ohio governor, John Kasich, a Republican, at the University of Delaware last month.
“We’re both hoping that both our parties generate some real energetic people who have the depth and the capacity to do it,” Biden said.
Biden considered a run for the Oval Office in 2016 but decided against it, later citing the trauma of his son Beau’s death from cancer in May 2015 for keeping him from the race.
The painful subject forms the story of his new memoir, Promise Me, Dad, which is set for release this week. Biden, launching a month-long tour, is unlikely to pull punches when discussing the Trump administration.
“We gotta turn this ship around,” he said of the US in the Snapchat interview. “And I’d much prefer to be helping someone turn it around than being the guy trying to turn it around.”
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey released on Sunday, Biden said he regretted not being in the White House, but not his decision to stay on the sidelines last year.
“I don’t regret the decision I made because it’s the right decision for my family,” he said.
Kasich, who has been an outspoken opponent of Trump since he challenged him for the Republican nomination in 2016, declined to address his own 2020 plans. “You hold the pen and the Lord will write the sentence,” he said.
Brazile’s book also caused a political storm by implying that the Democratic primary had been rigged in Clinton’s favor over Sanders, a claim that she has sought to reverse in a series of interviews. Members of the Clinton campaign have questioned her motives.
The Associated Press contributed to this report