Subject: Former Cabinet Official Says He'd Donate to a Biden Run - Bloomberg Politics
From: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Alexander S. Mackler" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2015 15:11:21 -0400

> http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/>
> 
> Former Cabinet Official Says He'd Donate to a Biden Run
> 
> Former U.S. Trade Representative Ronald Kirk said Thursday that he would donate to Joe Biden if the vice president decides to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.
> 
> Kirk, who served as the ambassador on trade issues served from 2009 to 2013, also gave $2,700—the maximum amount allowable—to Hillary Clinton's campaign back in April <http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201507159000208219>.
> 
> Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
> US President Barack Obama (C) and Ron Kirk (R) talk as former US President Bill Clinton putts while golfing at Farm Neck Golf Club August 15, 2015 in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard. 
> His offer to also make a donation to Biden, which Kirk made in an e-mail to Bloomberg, comes two days after Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack endorsed Clinton the former secretary of state <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-26/hillary-clinton-touts-president-obama-s-support-as-joe-biden-mulls-options>. Clinton, who was Obama's first secretary of state, served with Kirk, Vilsack and Biden as members of President Barack Obama's original cabinet. Kirk's desire to express support for both of his former administration colleagues highlights the awkwardness facing the Obama team with the prospect of a late Biden entry into the presidential race.
> 
> Suspicions that Biden will run have increased in recent days, with vice president acknowledging that he's weighing a decision to Democratic National Committee, according to CNN <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-26/biden-tells-dnc-he-s-assessing-emotional-fuel-for-run-cnn>. Recent strong polling numbers for Biden <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-27/biden-more-competitive-than-clinton-against-leading-republicans-poll> and concerns about Clinton's handling of her e-mail controversy have augmented the chatter.
> 
> Kirk, who golfed <http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-15/obama-tees-off-with-bill-clinton-on-martha-s-vineyard> with Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and longtime Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan on Jordan's 80th birthday on August 15, did not say if he would support any other Democrat, if his commitments had evolved, or if he had spoken with President Clinton about the race.
> 
> Biden, who might face challenges winning the of African-Americans who have already embraced Clinton, could get a boost from from Kirk, who served as the first African-American mayor of Dallas. But as Obama's trade representative, Kirk was also instrumental in the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that many labor-oriented Democrats fear could kill American jobs.
> 
> Biden also met Thursday with Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, according to an official at the U.S.'s largest labor federation. The meeting was first reported by Reuters <http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/27/us-usa-election-biden-labor-idUSKCN0QW1U120150827>.
> 
> Margaret Talev contributed reporting.
> 

Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Advisors, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
[email-masked] <x-msg://59/[email-masked]>
P Consider the environment before printing this email.