Joe Biden ‘won’t run for re-election’ if he beats Trump in 2020

Campaign advisers to former vice president say he wants to find a running mate he can 'turn things over to after four years'

Joe Biden “won’t be running for re-election” if he wins the White House in 2020, according to a new report, as the 77-year-old former vice president maintains a clear frontrunner status in the Democratic primaries.

Advisers to Mr Biden told Politico it was highly unlikely that he’d seek a second term in office, with one source telling the news outlet: “He’s going into this thinking: ‘I want to find a running mate I can turn things over to after four years, but if that’s not possible or doesn’t happen, then I’ll run for re-election’.”

That would make Mr Biden a “good transition figure” for the Democratic Party, one adviser added, noting how the former vice president could usher in a young, diverse Cabinet and “fresh faces” after taking out Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential elections.

Mr Biden has not directly indicated whether he would seek a second term if elected, but frequently discusses the importance of a vice presidential pick while speaking to voters and media along the campaign trail.

“You have to have somebody who knows that you and he or she are totally simpatico in terms of your ideology, where you want to take the country, your vision for the country, and you have to be able to turn over significant responsibility to them”, Mr Biden said in an interview with Axios on HBO.

If elected, Mr Biden would become the oldest first-term president sworn into the Oval Office.

Mr Biden previously said he would consider adding a female vice president to the Democratic ticket if he wins the nomination, adding that potential names could include Kamala Harris — who has since dropped out of the primary race — or even Elizabeth Warren.

“I’d add Senator Warren to the list. I’d add all. But she’s going to be very angry at my having said that”, he told Axios. “The question is: would she add me made to her list?”

Still, the former vice president has reportedly ruled out a one-term pledge, and has no intention to shut out the possibility of a second term before he even gets the chance of winning the Democratic nomination in 2020.

The Associated Press has previously reported the former vice president “wasn’t necessarily committed to seeking a second term if elected in 2020” but, when asked if he’d serve just one term, Mr Biden told ABC’s The View: “No.”

Mr Biden has consistently polled at the top of the Democratic candidates who launched bids for the White House during the 2020 campaign season, and remains the frontrunner in national surveys with just a few months before the primaries.