So much for the supposed brotherhood Obama talked about between these two. There’s no loyalty in Washington.

Joe Biden finally entered the Presidential race this morning. This comes after months of “will he, won’t he” intrigue that really centered around the timing more than any actual question of whether he’d run. Whoever had a Thursday at 6AM in the pool of announcement criteria, collect your winnings.

Given the fact that Biden is only relevant because he was VP under Barack Obama, you’d think the former President would be apt to help his friend and former running mate out by getting behind his campaign.

Nah, says Obama, you’re on your own buddy.

Former President Barack Obama expressed support Thursday for Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, but stopped short of an explicit endorsement for his longtime running mate.

Obama, who has remained active in politics since departing office more than two years ago, has offered Biden more than he has to the rest of the Democratic field, as the 19 other candidates are all vying for attention, support, and anything to boost their campaigns.

“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” said Obama spokesperson Katie Hill. “He relied on the Vice President’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.”

Here’s the thing.

If Obama trusted Biden enough to have him second in line for the Presidency in his administration, why wouldn’t he trust him enough to endorse him to, you know, become President? Seems like a pretty common sense move and one any decent friend would make.

After all, Biden did spend eight years defending Obama and helping push his policy initiatives forward. You’d think that would earn him some direct backing. On the other hand, Biden was headed to irrelevancy until Obama chose him in 2008 to be part of the ticket, so maybe the former President doesn’t see himself as owning the former VP anything? It wouldn’t surprise me if Obama’s next-level arrogance came into play here and he actually saw no intrinsic value in what Biden did for him.

For Biden’s part, he’s suddenly claiming after the fact that he asked Obama not to endorse him.

Biden: I Asked Obama Not to Endorse Me https://t.co/GRsi51ZsAT

— Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 25, 2019

Yeah, I’m sure Biden, knowing that such an endorsement would seal the nomination for him, asked Obama not give him any support. No one really believes that. It’s the pathetic “no, you aren’t dumping me, I’m actually dumping you” routine.

Let me show you how that conversation actually went.

https://twitter.com/bendreyfuss/status/1121431657536421889

If it comes down to Bernie or Biden though, I’d guess Obama will quickly shed his “above the fray” positioning and give a real endorsement. It’ll be interesting to see how Biden chooses to run in this campaign. He’s already lost most of the Obama alums to younger, supposedly hipper candidates. Biden also has the issue of coming across as too moderate for the rabid left-wing base of the Democratic party.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the circular firing squad that’s coming. Bernie has signaled he’s playing for keeps and he won’t be handling an establishment figure like Biden with kid gloves. Then you’ve got the inter-sectional candidates that will all attack him for being old and white.

The debates are going to be insane.