Biden Camp Denies That Story About Son’s Dying Wish Was 2016 Trial Balloon

Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, in New York. During the event, Biden, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Manhattan Dis... Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, in New York. During the event, Biden, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and actress Mariska Hargitay announced almost $80 million in grants to help eliminate a vast nationwide backlog of rape kits. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

A representative for Vice President Joe Biden pushed back on a Politico report Tuesday that suggested Biden had told New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd his dying son’s wish that he run for president to “trial balloon” a potential campaign.

“The bottom line on the Politico story is that it is categorically false and the characterization is offensive,” a Biden spokesperson told NBC News. Biden’s team, however, did not confirm or deny that the vice president told Dowd that story.

Multiple anonymous stories told Politico that the story appearing in Dowd’s Aug. 1 column of Biden’s son Beau telling the vice president to challenge Hillary Clinton came from Biden himself. Beau Biden died of brain cancer in May.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: