Joe Biden 'confident' Hillary Clinton will be next president

WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- Vice President Joe Biden came as close as anyone in President Barack Obama's administration has to endorsing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, saying he is "confident" she will be the party's nominee.

Biden did not endorse Clinton outright, instead telling ABC News he believes she will prevail in the ongoing Democratic presidential primary over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and will go on to win the general election.

"I feel confident that Hillary will be the nominee, and I feel confident she'll be the next president," Biden said.

The comment came several weeks after Biden appeared to criticize Clinton and praise Sanders for offering a more robust, liberal vision for the country, as opposed to Clinton's more pragmatic approach to governing.

"I like the idea of saying 'We can do much more' because we can," Biden said. "I don't think any Democrat's ever won saying, 'We can't think that big -- we ought to really downsize here because it's not realistic.' C'mon man, this is the Democratic Party! I'm not part of the party that says, 'Well, we can't do it.'"

Obama and Biden have been careful not to pick sides in the ongoing Democratic primary. Biden himself weighed whether to enter the race, but in the wake of his son Beau's death last year, he opted not to run.