Newark, Delaware (CNN) Former Vice President Joe Biden revealed on Tuesday that his family is on board with a 2020 run and he's "very close" to making a decision, his most direct comments to date about his thinking on jumping into the presidential campaign.

Speaking at the University of Delaware, Biden said he has discussed a run with his family, including his grandchildren, noting that the "most important people in my life want me to run."

"The first hurdle for me was deciding whether or not I am comfortable taking the family through what would be a very, very difficult campaign," Biden said during a conversation with presidential historian Jon Meacham. "No matter who runs. It's a very difficult campaign. The primary will be very difficult. And the general election, running against President Trump, I don't think that he's likely to stop at anything, whomever he runs against."

"I am certain about where the family is," he added. "But the second piece is that I don't want this to be a fool's errand and I want to make sure that if we do this, and we're very close to getting to a decision, that I am fully prepared to do it."

Family considerations have long been a part of Biden's campaign calculus, particularly after the death of his son Beau in 2015. Biden decided against a 2016 run as his family was grieving following Beau's passing.

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