Vice President Joe Biden has kept everyone in the dark on his plans for 2016.
John Heilemann of Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Biden is making his first serious moves to run for president, attending political rallies and meeting with top campaign bundlers who could raise him millions of dollars.
Over the weekend the vice president spent time in New York City. He stood next to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and announced an $80 million plan to clear the backlog of rape kits in police departments around the country.
Then Biden met with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to rally in favor of raising the minimum wage, delivered remarks about 9/11 on the Intrepid Museum, and finished it off with an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Biden also held a private meeting with a Democrat fundraising powerhouse who publicly supports Hillary Clinton – for now.
His name is Robert Wolf, the former chairman and CEO of UBS Americas, a heavy fundraiser for Barack Obama in his two presidential campaigns, and a four-time appointee to economic panels in the Obama administration.
Wolf told Heilemann that the two discussed a range of issues, but not a future presidential run. Wolf said it was the first time he and Biden had met alone to discuss personal matters.
The author believed that the timing of the meeting was no accident.
“In 2008, Wolf sided with Obama over Clinton when the vast majority of his Wall Street compatriots did the opposite,” Heilemann wrote. “And while he is publicly committed to Clinton and has written a check to her for $2,700, the individual maximum contribution, he has not signed on as a “Hillblazer” bundler or raised a dime for her so far.”
Wolf is not the only the donor Biden has been meeting; the vice president has reportedly been taking phone calls from around the country. With Clinton sinking in the polls, the temptation for Biden may be too great to ignore.
Heilemann said that he believes the vice president will eventually announce his candidacy, but much later than most people expect.
Watch a clip of Heilemann discussing Biden’s candidacy on CBS’s “Face the Nation”:
