Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday reportedly encouraged his 2012 political foe Mitt Romney to launch a Senate bid in 2018.
Biden said Romney should consider a run for the upper chamber during a closed-door appearance with the 2012 Republican presidential nominee in Deer Valley, Utah. Romney response to this statement was simply a smile.
Speculation has swirled for months that Romney may look into a 2018 Senate run, should Senator Orrin Hatch step aside. Romney also spoke with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the potential for a Senate bid, with McConnell reportedly urging him to run if Hatch steps aside.
Neither Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has roots in Utah, nor his aides have denied interest in the seat should it become open. Romney ran against Biden and former President Barack Obama during the 2012 presidential race.
In his appearance Friday, Biden also reportedly commented on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s loss to President Trump last year.
According to Politico, Biden said that he knew that Clinton would lose key battleground states in October, a month before the election, based on his past campaigning in those states.
It is not the first time Biden has criticized Clinton in recent weeks. During a conference in Las Vegas last month hosted by hedge fund impresario and Trump supporter Anthony Scaramucci, Biden was quoted as saying that he “never” thought Clinton “was a great candidate”.
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