WASHINGTON ― Don’t rule Vice President Joe Biden out just yet.
A handful of Democrats got a kick out of calling Biden “Mr. President” on Wednesday as he sat in the Senate presiding officer’s chair, likely for the last time.
In a tribute to his long life in public service, senators from both parties thanked Biden and took the opportunity to playfully encourage him to run in 2020.
“Mr. President, and I enjoy calling you by that title,” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said to laughter in the upper chamber. “I hope you do too, because you know that you could easily fill that title as president of this body or president of the United States. You’ve shown your qualification for either one.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) similarly hinted at the latest talk about Biden toying with a possible run for the White House.
“Mr. President, and I know how much you enjoy me calling you Mr. President,” McCain said, before diving into a heartfelt speech about their friendship.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who is departing the Senate this year, joined in.
“Well, Mr. President, we all take pleasure in calling you that,” she said with a smirk.
In recent conversations, Biden has left the door open to a possible run four years from now.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, hell, Donald Trump’s gonna be 74. I’ll be 77 and in better shape. I mean, what the hell?” Biden said Tuesday night on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”