Vice President Joe Biden will run for president, Democratic presidential hopeful Lincoln Chafee has predicted.
"I think he's going to get in," the former Rhode Island governor and senator said
during an interview with Larry King on his Ora.tv show "PoliticKING."
"I see him standing with President Obama in every photo. Especially the big main profile [photos]— when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Affordable Care Act, the deal with Iran, the opening of Cuba — it always seems the vice president is standing right there," he said.
"That seems to signal something to me."
In the aftermath of his son's, Beau, death from brain cancer, Biden had reduced his schedule, but
The Hill reported last week that he was resuming his workload with a series of speeches on the economy with visits to Colorado and California. He has also taken a leading role in currying support on Capitol Hill for the Iran nuclear deal.
Speculation has been mounting of late that he is seriously considering a run. A
report by The Wall Street Journal said that both of his sons urged him to jump into the race.
And The New York Times reported last week that as his career reaches a crossroads, he is likely weighing a bid.
"He's run before—he ran in 1988 and of course in 2008," Chafee said in the interview.
"And I served with him on the Foreign Relations Committee, we've traveled together to Iraq and done some trips together to Mexico. I'll put my two dollars that he gets in," he added.
The political climate could be evolving to Biden's favor after a report on Thursday that two inspectors general are launching a criminal investigation of
Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account for government communication when she was secretary of state.
It's unclear what effect, if any, the Clinton email probe could have on influencing Biden's decision to jump into the race.
A poll released last week suggested that Biden's entry into the Democratic field would narrow Clinton's current lead.
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