Joe Biden’s talks with Obama about 2016 run will stay private: White House

If President Obama is talking with Vice President Joseph R. Biden about running for the presidency, he’s not saying.

In response to increasing reports that Mr. Biden will challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that Mr. Obama “will keep his private discussions with the vice president … private.”

Mr. Earnest reminded reporters that Mr. Biden has said previously he’d make a decision by the end of this summer. He said somebody with Mr. Biden’s “extensive experience … should be afforded the opportunity” to decide on his own timetable.

The president’s spokesman also touted Mr. Biden’s “significant” contributions to the administration.

Mr. Biden is spending the day at home in Wilmington, Delaware, with no public events on his schedule. Various reports in recent days have indicated that more Democratic operatives are encouraging him to run, in a sign of nervousness about Mrs. Clinton’s stumbling campaign.