Former U.S. Secretary of State and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry fears Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will win the 2020 Democratic nomination and reportedly discussed preparing to enter the race himself.
According to an NBC News analyst who overheard Kerry having a conversation in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, the former Massachusetts senator is worried that a Sanders nomination will take the Democratic party “down whole.” During the call, he allegedly admitted that in order to run he would have to resign from the board of Bank of America and forgo making paid speeches.
“Maybe I’m fucking deluding myself,” Kerry allegedly said during the call before adding that Democratic donors could “raise a couple of million” since they “now have the reality of Bernie.”
Kerry had previously endorsed Biden, making him the highest ranking member of the Obama administration to do so.
Following NBC News’ report, Kerry tweeted then deleted a statement denying his interest in entering the race.
“I am absolutely not running for president,” the statement read. “Any report otherwise is fucking (or categorically) false. I’ve been proud to campaign with my good friend Joe Biden, who is going to win the nomination, beat Trump, and make an outstanding president.”
Woah pic.twitter.com/1ByIKeyDvu
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) February 2, 2020
He later retweeted his statement without the profanity.
As I told the reporter, I am absolutely not running for President. Any report otherwise is categorically false. I’ve been proud to campaign with my good friend Joe Biden, who is going to win the nomination, beat Trump, and make an outstanding president.
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) February 2, 2020
Sanders and Biden have repeatedly traded leads in national polls heading into Monday’s Iowa caucuses.