The White House on Wednesday publicly praised both Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sidestepping questions from reporters about the race for the Democratic Party nomination, and whether President Obama will support one over the other.
"First of all, the Vice President has not indicated whether or not he's going to run, so it's unclear it's a question anybody is going to have to answer, let alone the President," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
At Wednesday's regular briefing for reporters, Earnest said nice things about both Biden and Clinton, trying to walk a fine line in what might be a tricky political situation if both run for the White House.
"The President has spoken quite warmly of Secretary Clinton," Earnest said at one point, noting "her leadership, her performance as Secretary of State."
Asked by reporters at a stop in Iowa about a possible run by Biden, Clinton labeled him a friend.
"He has to do what he has to do," Clinton said, calling it a "difficult decision" in the wake of the death of Biden's son Beau.
"I’m going to continue with my campaign. I’m going to do what I believe I should be doing," Clinton told reporters in Ankeny, just north of Des Moines.
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