John Kerry 'Categorically' Denies 2020 Rumors

John Kerry has angrily denied claims that he might be plotting to enter the Democratic race at the last minute. The former secretary of State, who was the party's 2004 nominee, spoke out after NBC reported that he had been overheard in an Iowa hotel talking about entering the race because of "the possibility of Bernie Sanders taking down the Democratic Party—down whole," reports Politico. An NBC analyst said they heard Kerry, who has been campaigning on behalf of Joe Biden, say "maybe I'm f--king deluding myself here" before noting that donors would have to raise "a couple of million" and saying he would have to stop making paid speeches and step down from the board of Bank of America.

Kerry tweeted that he is not planning to run for president, "and any report otherwise is f---ing (or categorically) false." He later deleted the tweet and replaced it with one minus the expletive. The 76-year-old told NBC that its report was a "complete and total misinterpretation based on overhearing only one side of a phone conversation." He added: "A friend who watches too much cable called me wondering whether I’d ever jump into the race late in the game if Democrats were choosing an unelectable nominee. I listed all the reasons I could not possibly do that and would not—and will not under any circumstances—do that.” (More John Kerry stories.)