Trump: Biden would be tougher to beat than Clinton

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Joe Biden speaks in Denver in July. (Photo: Brennan Linsley/AP)

The news that Vice President Joe Biden is exploring the possibility of entering the 2016 presidential race was a hot topic on Sunday morning’s political talk shows.

Donald Trump, who is currently leading the pack for the Republican nomination, thinks Biden could “maybe beat” the front-runner on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton.

“Her numbers are going down drastically, so somebody like Biden could probably go in and do very well and maybe win,” Trump said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Trump believes Biden would be tougher to defeat than Clinton.

“I actually think Hillary will be easy if it’s her,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “But I’m not so sure it’s going to be her.”

According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, however, both Clinton and Biden would beat Trump by 12 points in a theoretical general election.

The New York Times reports that Biden, who has yet to rule out a potential run, “gets along with Hillary and has always been respectful of the Democratic Party’s desire to make more history by putting the first woman in the Oval Office.”

But the recent death of his oldest son, Beau, from brain cancer made the 72-year-old vice president consider another bid for the White House.

Related: Democratic bundlers step up Draft Biden efforts

“There will always be room for the sitting vice president if he chose to run for president,” Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said on “Meet the Press.” “But let’s remember and take one step back that Vice President Biden has just been through the most heart-wrenching tragedy that a parent could ever experience.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sits second behind Clinton and 4 points ahead of Biden in the Quinnipiac poll, says he is “very fond” of Biden but thinks the American people “want to go beyond conventional establishment politics.”

“Government has to respond to the needs of the middle class, not the billionaires,” Sanders said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think that’s what’s going on in this country and I’m not sure that conventional politics will do it anymore.”

Jennifer Palmieri, communications director for the Clinton campaign, says she isn’t worried about a possible Biden bid.

“We’ll let him make his decision,” Palmieri said on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.” “However hard it is to secure the Democratic nomination is however hard it is. We have no illusions — we never thought that this was going to be easy. There’s a lot of views in the Democratic Party, and we’ll be prepared to handle whatever comes our way.”

Rupert Murdoch, for one, is looking forward to the possibility of Biden joining the race.

“Finally Biden may jump in as Hillary slips almost daily,” the News Corporation founder and executive chairman tweeted. “Biden decent, smart pol but gets in trouble as a motormouth! Fun [race] ahead.”