CLAIM: President Joe Biden claimed during an interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos that Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) had “tried to get” the presidential nomination.
VERDICT: False.
During an ABC News interview with Stephanopoulos that aired on Friday, Biden was asked about Warner’s recent efforts to gather a group of Senate Democrats to demand that Biden withdraw from the presidential election.
“The Washington Post just reported in the last hour that Sen. Mark Warner is assembling a group of senators together to try to convince you to stand down because they don’t think you can win,” Stephanopoulos said.
In response, Biden said that Warner was a “good man” who had “tried to get the nomination too.”
“Mark’s a good man,” Biden said. “He also tried to get the nomination too. Mark’s not … Mark and I have a different perspective. I respect him.”
When asked about the effort from Sen. Mark Warner to replace him on the ticket, Biden says “Mark is a good man....he also tried to get the nomination too"
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 6, 2024
Mark Warner did not in fact run for president and never has. pic.twitter.com/HTDRnZnapf
Warner has served as a senator for Virginia since 2009 after defeating former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) in November 2008, according to the Breeze, the student newspaper for James Madison University.
Prior to serving as a senator for Virginia, Warner had served as the governor of Virginia between 2002 and 2006.
In October 2006, Warner ruled out a possible presidential run after he had spent a year considering launching a bid for the presidency in 2008, according to the New York Times.
Warner explained that after “a lot of reflection, prayer and soul-searching,” he had decided not to throw his hat into the race for the White House in 2008.