Obama Spox Hails Joe Biden, No Endorsement Yet

Politico reports:

Former President Barack Obama offered some warm words for Joe Biden on Thursday after his vice president officially jumped into the 2020 race, but notably did not endorse him.

“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill said. “He relied on the Vice President’s knowledge, insight and judgment, throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.”

The cryptic message signals that Obama is likely to follow the precedent set in 2016, when he did not endorse any candidates during the primary despite his former secretary of State’s presence in the race.

Obama has stayed behind scenes so far, but he has privately offered advice to several Democratic candidates.

As Biden jumps in the race, a person close to President Obama tells @jeffzeleny “…it’s unlikely that he will throw his support behind a specific candidate this early in the primary process — preferring instead to let the candidates make their cases directly to the voters.”

— Sarah Mucha (@sarahmucha) April 25, 2019

If Joe Biden wants to keep score:

In 8 years, Biden & Obama had a net loss of 193,000 manufacturing jobs.

In just over 2 years, @realDonaldTrump has created 453,000 manufacturing jobs.

Don’t let Biden take us backwards!

— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 25, 2019