Biden 'asked President Obama not to endorse' him, but people aren't buying it

You sure, Joe?
By Nicole Gallucci  on 
Biden 'asked President Obama not to endorse' him, but people aren't buying it
Known friends, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Joe Biden is officially running for president in 2020, and from the looks of his first day in the race it's going to be a long, awkward journey.

As you may remember, Biden served as Barack Obama's vice president for eight years, and the two men were exceptionally close. Their "bromance" was talked about constantly, they exchanged friendship bracelets, and Obama even awarded Biden the Medal of Freedom. But because they were such genuine pals, Obama's in a pretty strange spot right now.

On Thursday, a reporter asked Biden why Obama had yet to endorsed him for president, to which the former VP replied, "I asked President Obama not to endorse, and he doesn’t want to. Listen, we should — whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits." That's when things got awkward.

As a former president it makes sense why Obama wouldn't want to weigh in on the race — especially considering there are currently 20 Democratic candidates. But because of his past relationship with Biden, a lot of people were expecting some sort of comment.

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As Obama continues to remain neutral, Twitter users have taken it upon themselves to troll Biden's "I asked him not to endorse me" claim, comparing it to other classic, untrue excuses.

When announcing his candidacy on Instagram on Thursday morning, Biden included a photograph of himself and Obama, and photos with the former president are already being included in promoted tweet ads for Biden's campaign.

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Joe Biden promoted tweet Credit: screengrab/twitter

Even former White House photographer turned Instagram troller/author, Pete Souza, is sharing photos of the two men together.

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So while Obama might not publicly endorse Biden during the course of his campaign, it seems he'll have a very tough time escaping his association with the 2020 candidate.

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.


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