John Kerry still won't deny a 2020 run

John Kerry.
(Image credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images)

John Kerry is setting the record straight on a potential 2020 run — sort of.

The former secretary of state and ex-presidential candidate, who lost to former President George W. Bush in 2004, partially clarified his 2020 vision in an interview with CBS This Morning on Tuesday. "I doubt very much I'll be running for office again," Kerry said, but he added that "no one should be focused on 2020 right now" with the 2018 midterms still on the horizon.

Kerry told CBS News' Face The Nation on Sunday that he's "not really thinking about" running for president in 2020, a half-dodge that prompted further questions about his plans. Like many Democrats thought to have presidential hopes, Kerry told CBS News that talking about 2020 before the midterms is "a total distraction and waste of time."

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In a Monday tweet, President Trump interpreted that as Kerry considering a run, to which the president said he "should only be so lucky" to run against "the father of the now terminated Iran deal." Trump added that the Democratic field of 2020 contenders "looks really good — FOR ME!"

Kerry's Tuesday follow-up is another notable non-statement, much like how he told MSNBC's Morning Joe in 2017 that he hadn't made plans to run "right now." Pair that with his resistance-laden Twitter feed, and there's plenty to speculate about.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.