Vice President Joe Biden inadvertently undermined Hillary Clinton in a newly published interview by pointing out that his favorability ratings are higher than the Democratic presidential front-runner’s.
In an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood, Biden, who is known for his many gaffes, was asked about his role as second fiddle to President Obama and the public perception of him as “Goofy Uncle Joe.”
“Are you comfortable with Goofy Uncle Joe?” Harwood asked.
Biden said he did not like the characterization and then digressed by pointing out his favorability ratings.
“And by the way, the so-called Goofy Uncle Joe — if you notice, I beat every Republican in every poll when they thought I was running. You notice that my favorability was higher than anybody that’s running for office in either party,” he said.
The Clinton campaign breathed a sigh of relief in October when Biden decided he would not run to replace President Obama. The death of Biden’s 46-year-old son Beau in May was said to have weighed heavily on his decision.
Many Democrats believed Biden had a better shot at winning the White House than did Clinton, who was and still is embroiled in scandals over her use of a private email server.