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Obama Reportedly Warned Biden About 2020: ‘You Don’t Have to Do This, Joe’

The former president also reportedly asked Biden advisers to ensure that the ex-veep does not “embarrass himself.”

Former President Barack Obama wasn’t so sure Joe Biden, his former veep, should run for president in 2020, The New York Times reported Friday.

“You don’t have to do this, Joe, you really don’t,” Obama told Biden earlier this year, according to a Times source, prior to the former senator jumping into the crowded Democratic primary field. According to the Times, “Mr. Biden — who thinks he could have defeated Donald Trump four years ago — responded by telling Mr. Obama he could never forgive himself if he turned down a second shot at Mr. Trump.”

The Times also reported that Obama met with top Biden advisers in March and, according to the sources, requested that the ex-veep’s team do what they can so that Biden does not “embarrass himself” or “damage his legacy.”