Did Obama Consider Ditching Biden for Clinton? ‘No Way,’ Pres Says

"I like him," Obama says of his VP. "He has my back."

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Larry Downing / REUTERS

President Obama has batted away allegations that he considered dumping Vice President Joe Biden for Hillary Clinton during the 2012 presidential campaign.

In an interview with NBC News, Obama dismissed the story that reporters Mark Halperin and John Heilemann featured in their book Double Down: Game Change 2012. 

While hinting that his campaign team might have poll-tested a ticket switch from Biden to Clinton, the President emphasized that he was “not somebody who delves into polling and all that data,” leaving open the possibility that the poll might have happened somewhere in the nether reaches of his campaign. He added that the idea never reached his desk, and that if it had it would have been flatly rejected.

“I like him,” Obama said of Biden. “When my back’s up against the wall, he has my back.” Lest there were any doubts about his affections, Obama added that Biden was “one of the best vice presidents in our history,” that choosing him was “one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made,” and that Biden turned out to be “one of my most important advisers on domestic and foreign policy.”

[NBC News]