Joe Biden declares he doesn't need Obama's endorsement to win the 2020 primary

White House/Pete Souza

President Barack Obama embraces Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office after a meeting on the budget, April 8, 2011.

• Former Vice President Joe Biden insisted this week that he doesn't need a formal endorsement from President Barack Obama to win the 2020 Democratic primary.
• "Everyone knows I'm close with him," Biden told reporters of the former president. "I don't need an Obama endorsement."
• The Delaware native also told reporters that his strong ties with the base of the Democratic Party, including black voters, made him invaluable to Obama's presidential campaigns.
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Former Vice President Joe Biden insisted this week that he doesn't need a formal endorsement from President Barack Obama to win the Democratic primary because voters already know he's "close" with the former president.

When asked by reporters in Iowa if he'd like Obama to step in when the primary narrows to a few competitors, Biden replied, "No, because everyone knows I'm close with him ... I don't need an Obama endorsement."

Biden made the comments on his campaign bus, while on an eight-day road trip (titled the "No Malarkey" tour) around rural Iowa, where he's polling as poorly as fourth place.

The Delaware native also told reporters that his strong ties with the base of the Democratic Party, including black voters, made him invaluable to Obama's presidential campaigns.

"I was the one who was sent in," he said. "And the reason was, because all the polling and data showed that I had those relationships with the base of the Democratic Party as well as African-Americans. And so I did as many African American events as Barack did."

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