Bill Clinton is reportedly 'very agitated' by the idea of Biden jumping into the race

While Hillary Clinton might be brushing aside concerns about a potential Joe Biden candidacy, Bill Clinton is "very agitated" by the possibility and the media hype surrounding it, a person who "has spoken with the former president in the last couple of weeks" told Politico. Amidst the email controversy and the "surprisingly stout" challenge from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has polled ahead of Clinton in New Hampshire for the last two weeks, Politico reports that the Clinton camp "isn't in a patient mood."

Still though, Clinton campaign staffers say their boss isn't allowing them to push negative information about Biden, which they say would likely backfire in light of Biden's recent family tragedy (his son passed away this spring). While Bill is reportedly irked by the possibility of a challenge from Biden, Hillary is falling more in line with Clinton campaign officials who think a Biden bid could "energize what has been a fairly lackluster performance by the candidate this far," Politico says.

Whether spun in a positive or a negative light though, the Clintons are definitely keeping an eye on the veep. Biden has said he could wait until as late as early October to make his decision and, according to insiders, at this point "he's not leaning one way or the other."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Read the full scoop on the Biden hype at Politico.