“How do you want to spend the rest of your life?”
The question had the 1,400-member sold-out crowd on the edge of their seats Sunday, screaming and applauding. But Biden didn’t provide the response that many had hoped he might: an announcement of a presidential run in 2020.
Instead, Biden said he hoped to fulfill a promise he made to his son, Beau, before he died of brain cancer in 2015—that Beau’s death would not discourage Biden from continuing to pursue a life of public service.
Biden is considering a run in 2020, and last week at an event in Montana said he was “the most qualified person in the country” to serve as president. He will be making a decision about a 2020 bid in the next two months, he says.
In the meantime, Biden has been touring around the country to promote his book “Promise Me Dad,” a memoir detailing the former vice president’s life while his son battled cancer.
Biden’s stop in Vermont, comes as Sen. Bernie Sanders I-Vt. is also mulling a run in 2020. In an interview with New York Magazine last month, Sanders said that he would run if he felt he was the “best candidate to beat Donald Trump.” But Sanders did not come up during Sunday’s talk.
At his stop in Burlington, Biden offered up criticism of Trump administration and in particular, raised concerns about foreign policy under the current president.
While the domestic policy changes Trump has made could be negated by another administration, according to Biden, he said that the Trump administration’s “naked self interest” on the world stage could result in permanent damage.
He warned that another six years with Trump in office would likely mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), for example.
Biden also mused about his time in the Oval Office, and his relationship with former President Barack Obama.
“Barack and I were probably the closest president and vice president in American history,” he said.
But much of his talk was devoted to discussing his late son’s life, and his efforts to find cures for cancer.
While in office during the Obama administration, and through his own nonprofit organization, the Biden Cancer Initiative, the former Vice President has advocated for cancer researchers to more effectively share their data, improve clinical trials, and find cures as quickly as possible.
“We’re on the cusp of so many breakthroughs, so have hope,” he told the audience in Burlington.
He said he wrote the memoir, which was published last November, to help others who are processing grief.
“There are so many people, they’ve gone through what I’ve gone through and they get up every day and put one foot in front of the other,” he said.
“I wanted them to understand that you can turn it into something that is positive if you find purpose.”
