Former Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he asked former President Barack Obama "not to endorse" his White House campaign, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
Biden officially announced his campaign Thursday, and Obama issued a statement soon after praising his former running mate without outright endorsing him for president.
"I asked President Obama not to endorse," Biden told reporters in his home state of Delaware. "And he doesn't want to — whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits."
Biden spokesperson Kate Bedingfield told MSNBC earlier Thursday that Biden asked Obama "not" to endorse him.
"The vice president actually asked the president not to endorse," Bedingfield told MSNBC. "He wanted to make the case. He is running in this race because he believes we need to restore the soul of this nation. We need to rebuild the backbone of America and that we need to unify and come together. Voters know Joe Biden."
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