Vice President Joe Biden’s oldest son sought to persuade him to run for the presidency before his death in May, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Times Columnist Maureen Dowd reported that both Beau Biden, who died after a battle with brain cancer, and Hunter Biden pushed their father to continue his public service with a presidential bid. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Biden’s sons had urged him to jump into the 2016 race, citing anonymous friends and advisers of the vice president’s.
Beau Biden became adamant about his father’s political future once his own health started to seriously deteriorate, according to Dowd. The source of Dowd’s information is unclear.
“He tried to make his father promise to run, arguing that the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values,” she wrote.
Joe Biden has previously said that he’d likely make a decision about whether or not to seek the presidency by August.