John Kerry Reportedly Overheard Discussing Possibility Of Entering 2020 Race To Stop Bernie Sanders
John Kerry could have one more presidential run in him, a contested new report claims.
As NBC News reported, the former secretary of state and 2004 presidential candidate was overheard having a phone conversation in which he discussed the prospect of entering the race due to “the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party — down whole.” The report noted that Kerry was in the lobby of a hotel and within hearing distance of an NBC News analyst. The analyst apparently heard Kerry talking about the steps he would need to take to enter the race, which would include stepping down from the board of Bank of America and leaving the corporate speaking circuit.
Kerry vehemently shot down the report. NBC News noted that he told a reporter he was “absolutely not” thinking about a very late jump into the 2020 Democratic primary, which kicks off Monday in Iowa with the first caucus. Kerry then took to Twitter to say that any report claiming he’s thinking about another run for president is ” f*cking (or categorically) false.” He later deleted the tweet and reposted it without the expletive.
The former Massachusetts senator then explained that the person on the other end of the line was curious if Kerry might run for president if he feared that voters picked a losing nominee, and Kerry was only explaining why that would not be possible.
“This is a complete and total misinterpretation based on overhearing only one side of a phone conversation. A friend who watches too much cable called me wondering whether I’d ever jump into the race late in the game if Democrats were choosing an unelectable nominee,” he told the outlet. “I listed all the reasons I could not possibly do that and would not — and will not under any circumstances — do that.”
This is not the first time that a Democratic race has been hit with rumors of a past candidate reentering a race. As The Inquisitr noted, the lead-up to this year’s primary included a number of reports that 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton may jump back into the mix, though the former secretary of state and New York senator repeatedly denied the reports. There were similar rumors during the 2016 cycle that fellow failed nominee Al Gore may enter the primary late, though Gore never did.
Kerry does have a stake in this year’s race, however. He has been a vocal backer of Joe Biden, appearing at events in Iowa ahead of Monday’s caucuses.
