Joe Biden says he will decide "soon" on his plans for 2020



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An ally who has spoken to Biden over the last few weeks said that the former vice president had indicated that he was heading towards running. But though he made a decision during the holidays, which he had already indicated he hoped to do, he would not even have informed his closest allies.

"He understands that he must make a decision relatively early in the process," he added. ally said CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions. "He knows that he can not wait."

Biden's silence led some donors and Democratic activists to wonder if he was ambivalent about running and he did not know if his family would be plunged into a murderous campaign, although his friends Have said many times. is the party's most powerful candidate to defeat President Donald Trump.

If Biden decides to run, he will probably make an official announcement later this winter or even early spring. On election day last November, Biden told reporters that even if he had to make a decision in early January, he would wait to reveal his answer.

"I would not advertise, even though I was going to run what It would be too early to start," he said, adding that the timing "would depend on the circumstances on the ground and many other things ".

But most of these factors, especially timing – are not squarely under control. The race has already begun and he is facing pressure from some donors to signal his intentions and begin to explain how he will navigate a democratic and crowded primary field.

The former vice president is due to return to Washington this week. His public calendar for the month remains unchanged – a stopover in Texas on Jan. 24 to promote his book "Promise Me, Papa" and an event titled "An Evening with Vice President Joe Biden" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the 28th January.

Biden last released his calendar for a stoppage of his reading tour in early December, opening a window of six weeks to two months. And now, the deadline we face is fast approaching as Democrats look forward to Biden's verdict.

If he decides not to run, as he finally did in 2015 after flirting openly with Hillary Clinton for months, several longtime supporters and supporters are impatient. to rank behind other candidates in one of the biggest and most difficult races in the history of the party.

A long-time supporter said conversations between Biden loyalists revolved around this simple question: would the day of his announcement be the best of his days? campaign?

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] While Biden is leading the pack of Democratic candidates, largely because of the recognition of his name after serving alongside President Barack Obama for eight years. His policy does not necessarily correspond to the progressive energy that runs through the party.

Biden's challenge would be to persuade Democratic activists that at 76, he is best equipped to defeat Trump as the Democratic Party gathers around younger and more diverse candidates.

Sen. The first year trip of the Elizabeth Warren campaign in Iowa this weekend reinforced the need for Biden to make a decision, said several Democratic activists, some supporters of Biden taking things in hand and proposing to join a campaign on hold.

"Oh my God, I can not wait," said Mary Carey Foley, a long-time supporter who has described herself as a "traveling billboard in New Hampshire" for Biden. "I need a project, and it will be where it decides to go."

But other admirers of the major early voting states are eager to see if he is serious about a race.

"If Biden is I'm with Biden, if Biden goes out, then I'll start looking around," said Tony Bisignano, an Iowa senator and longtime supporter. "I hope that he is really serious and that he is currently preparing a basic job, he should at least send a signal indicating that he is reviewing it, but he does not. Did not make a decision. "

Proponents of Biden in Iowa said they were not ready to register until the former vice president made his decision.

"If he said," Hey, I'm going to give it a try this time. "I would probably be inclined to support it again, but it is a bit premature," said Lisa Heddens, a representative from the state of Iowa who supported her. in 2008.

"I think there would be many things to recommend to him, but he must first make his decision," said Herman Quirmbach, a senator from the state's Iowa, which joined the Biden Draft movement in 2015.

A vital part of democratic politics for nearly half a century, Biden has close ties with many Democratic activists from early states to vote and beyond. His two presidential campaigns, in 1988 and 2008, ended badly. But being chosen as Vice President of Obama raised his status as a beloved favorite among the many party members.

Yet this hardly guarantees a shift towards appointment.

"We have a lot of people talking about running," said Steve Shurtleff, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of New Hampshire and former supporter of Biden. "At some point, I would approve of someone, but we have a long way to go."

Shurtleff said he received a call from Biden after he got his party's nomination as president.

"The only thing I've said is we can not wait to see it at some point in New Hampshire," Shurtleff said. "He just laughed and said:" We'll see what happens. "

James Smith, a friend of the Biden family and former Democratic nominee for governorship in South Carolina, said a member of Biden's team recently came to arrange a phone call between him and the # Former vice-president.

"I hope to be able to talk to him soon," Smith said.

Biden spent part of his vacations in the Virgin Islands with his wife, Jill, taking the time to think about changing his life – and possibly diminishing his legacy – with what could be the most difficult campaign of his long career. He returned home with a smile but no definitive sign of his conclusion.

As he was crossing the Philadelphia airport late Friday, he told CNN's Randi Kaye that he would be deciding "soon".

Steve Brusk of CNN contributed to this report.

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