Vice President Joe Biden is increasingly pondering a run for the White House with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton "showing signs of weakness," NBC's Kristen Welker reported Wednesday.
Biden is far behind Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in recent polling, but his high favorability with the party and stark contrast with Clinton on questions of trustworthiness are among the factors that could edge him to join the race. A Reuters report Wednesday noted Biden's supporters view him as honest and frank, while nearly two-thirds of voters in Quinnipiac polling last week viewed Clinton the opposite way.
The constantly growing private email scandal has been the main factor behind Clinton's struggles, with revelations that classified information passed through her unsecured server while she was secretary of state and that she wiped the server clean of tens of thousands of emails, among others.
A new poll of Iowa Democrats showed strong support for Clinton there, but 52 percent thought Clinton's private email scandal would hurt her in a general election.
"Just another sign this scandal isn't going away," Welker said.
Biden met with left-wing icon Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) over the weekend, fueling speculation that he was serious about a potential candidacy. Also, President Obama reportedly gave his "blessing" for his No. 2 man to run for president during a private lunch Monday.