Joe Biden Jokes He Could Be ‘Demoted’ to Secretary of State

Vice President Joe Biden is expected any day now to announce whether he will run for President in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped him from making famously loose-lipped remarks.

At the White House Summit on Worker Voice on Wednesday, Biden told an audience of labor leaders and government officials that he would need to wrap up his remarks or risk being “demoted” to Secretary of State.

“We need your help. We need your suggestions. We need your muscle and we need to move,” Biden said. “And if I don’t move, I’ll be demoted to Secretary of State or something like that.”

After a bout of laughter, Biden added, “That was a joke.”

Biden’s remarks could be interpreted as a harsh jab at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his main competitor for the Democratic Presidential nomination should the Vice President decide to run. It’s unclear whether Biden, who is known for occasionally making controversial comments, meant his remarks as a barb against Clinton.

Biden and Clinton served together in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013.