In between the binge drinking, strip clubs and excessive gambling, not necessarily in that order of course, the financial elites of the world who decided to attend this years SALT conference in Las Vegas were treated to an epic little dose of Joe Biden. In return for a modest $200,000 speaking fee, Biden offered up some fairly candid thoughts on Hillary and the possibility of a 2020 Presidential run.
First, on Hillary’s shocking defeat last November, Biden told SALT-goers that while Hillary may have been a good president she was “never a great candidate.” Per CNN:
“I never thought she was a great candidate. I thought I was a great candidate,” he said.
But Biden stressed that he believed that “Hillary would have been a really good president.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Biden has taken a shot at Hillary as a flawed candidate. Back in March, he told a group students at Colgate that he had planned on running for President and figured that, while it would have been a difficult primary, he could have bested Hillary.
On whether he would run for president in 2020, Biden sounded open to the idea but said that no decision had been made at this point.
But if those things are done, and he’s healthy and the best candidate, “I may very well do it,” Biden said at the SALT hedge fund conference in Las Vegas.
Biden admitted he’s been approached by people who want him to run for President, but he’s told them he can’t commit right now.
“At this point, no one in my family or I have made the judgment to run,” Biden said.
And while Biden stopped short of taking any direct shots at Donald Trump, he did point out that the vast majority of us are sick of the divisiveness in Washington DC.
Biden also gave voice to frustration over the hyperpartisan divide gripping Washington.
“The public is sick of it ….This fever has to break,” he said.
Biden offered advice to Republicans and Democrats in Congress. “Argue like hell … but show some respect,” he said.
Finally, despite his well-documented financial needs, Biden pledged to give up his $200,000 speaking fee for appearing at SALT to charity…With a potential future run still on his plate, we guess he doesn’t yet have the “moral flexibility” to completely sell out to Wall Street like Obama.
via http://ift.tt/2qBjKiq Tyler Durden