On Monday’s NBC Today, correspondent Peter Alexander heralded efforts to get Joe Biden to enter the 2016 presidential race: “This morning the campaign calling for a Biden campaign is now up and running. Today NBC News is getting an exclusive first look at the first pro-Biden ad to hit the air, produced in hopes of drafting the Vice President into the 2016 race.”
As the Draft Biden ad began to run, Alexander declared: “All that's missing is the candidate.” A clip of Biden was featured in the ad: “You're on the cusp of some of the most astonishing breakthroughs in the history of mankind.” Alexander proclaimed: “This powerful and personal ad produced by a group of Biden supporters with a simple message, ‘Joe, run.’”
A soundbite followed of Draft Biden advisor Josh Alcorn gushing: “When Joe Biden sees this ad I hope he understands that there's millions of Americans who are eager to see him enter the presidential race.”
Another portion played, with Alexander explaining: “The ad debuts on cable TV next Tuesday, the day of the first Democratic debate, where Biden is not expected on stage. And just this morning, a new poll shows Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton still in the lead but losing ground in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. But Biden outperforms Clinton in general election match-ups in those critical swing states.”
Alexander noted: “It all comes as Biden's aides are blasting as ‘offensive’ and ‘categorically false’ a report accusing him of being politically ‘calculating’ while mourning his son's passing. The Politico report maintains Biden himself first leaked his son Beau's death-bed plea that he run for president to The New York Times.”
After Alexander’s report, co-host Savannah Guthrie asked Bloomberg Politics editor Mark Halperin about the controversy:
This political story had a pretty devastating thesis, this notion that the Vice President himself talked to a reporter for the purpose of floating a potential candidacy and told them this incredibly heart-wrenching story about his own son's death. The Vice President's office shot this down pretty hard. What do you make of it?
Halperin argued: “Joe Biden likes to talk and he likes to talk now a lot about whether he should run for president, about the personal aspect of it and about the politics of it....He just likes to talk and he's emotional right now over all of the confluence of things in his life. I don't think this is a big deal.”
Later in the segment, Halperin promoted Biden’s chances:
Look at the head-to-head polls now, Joe Biden mythical match-ups with Republicans, he’s doing better than Hillary Clinton in a lot of places....Wait to see if she loses to Bernie Sanders. Because if she loses to Bernie Sanders in Iowa or New Hampshire or both, I guarantee you, look at history of the Democratic Party, there’ll be panic. And Joe Biden, I think, believes maybe that's the right time. See what things look like. If she loses, maybe people say, “Hey, we need somebody else in this race”....He wants to be President of the United States, and as I said before, he's so competitive. He thinks he'd be a better president than Hillary Clinton and that's what’s fueling a lot of this.
Here is a full transcript of Alexander’s October 7 report:
7:07 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Move now to politics and time is running out for VP Joe Biden to decide if he's going to run for president. This morning we're getting a first look at a new ad campaign that is urging him to get in this race. NBC News national correspondent Peter Alexander is at the White House with all the headlines from politics. Peter, good morning.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New Calls for Biden Run; Campaign Ad Pushes VP to Join Campaign]
PETER ALEXANDER: Hey, Savannah, good morning to you. This morning the campaign calling for a Biden campaign is now up and running. Today NBC News is getting an exclusive first look at the first pro-Biden ad to hit the air, produced in hopes of drafting the Vice President into the 2016 race.
All that's missing is the candidate.
JOE BIDEN [“DRAFT BIDEN” AD]: You're on the cusp of some of the most astonishing breakthroughs in the history of mankind.
ALEXANDER: This powerful and personal ad produced by a group of Biden supporters with a simple message, “Joe, run.”
JOSH ALCORN [“DRAFT BIDEN” SENIOR ADVISOR]: When Joe Biden sees this ad I hope he understands that there's millions of Americans who are eager to see him enter the presidential race.
BIDEN: My dad's definition of success is when you look at your son and daughter and realize they turned out better than you, and they did.
ALEXANDER: The ad debuts on cable TV next Tuesday, the day of the first Democratic debate, where Biden is not expected on stage. And just this morning, a new poll shows Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton still in the lead but losing ground in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. But Biden outperforms Clinton in general election match-ups in those critical swing states. It all comes as Biden's aides are blasting as “offensive” and “categorically false” a report accusing him of being politically “calculating” while mourning his son's passing. The Politico report maintains Biden himself first leaked his son Beau's death-bed plea that he run for president to The New York Times.
With the Democratic race in flux, Hillary Clinton’s husband sat down with Stephen Colbert late Tuesday.
STEPHEN COLBERT: Please try to be impartial here. Who do you think is the most qualified to hold office in 2016?
BILL CLINTON: The lady I saw singing on Saturday Night Live.
ALEXANDER: The 42nd president also weighed in on the Republican front-runner.
CLINTON: He's a master brander and he’s the most interesting character out there.
COLBERT: Did you call Donald Trump and ask him to run for President of the United States?
CLINTON: No. No.
COLBERT: No? Because that would be pretty smart, man.
CLINTON: Yeah. Yeah, I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn't do, like that.
ALEXANDER: A longtime Biden supporter tells me the Vice President is still deliberating, so for now, Biden 2016 remains a hypothetical. And as another Biden friend worried to me, “The moment he’s in he becomes just another candidate, in their words, “most of the warm and fuzzy feelings quickly go away.” Savannah, Willie?
GUTHRIE: Alright, Peter, thank you so much.
