Mike Bloomberg seemingly suggested behind closed doors at an event with Silicon Valley elite on Thursday that former Vice President Joe Biden could be a “lame duck” president if elected, implying that the former New York mayor is the better moderate 77-year-old to support.

Toward the end of his 10-minute pitch to about 200 tech executives, investors, and socialites, Bloomberg, looking at notes, offered the contrast without naming Biden explicitly, according to video posted to social media and seen by Recode.

“My message to you is if you want somebody who’s experienced, and strong enough to serve two terms and not give the gift of being a lame-duck president to the Republicans,” Bloomberg said, before listing off a series of policy commitments, “then welcome to Bloomberg 2020 and I’d love to have your support.”

Biden is the only candidate who has been the subject of credible reporting that he could pledge to serve a single term, an accusation the Biden campaign has forcefully denied.

Nevertheless, the speculation could prove fruitful fodder for Bloomberg, who is competing with Biden for some of the same elite support and moderate voters.

A campaign spokesperson noted that Bloomberg has pledged to support the Democratic nominee no matter what.

It is a sensitive point of attack for Biden. Politico first reported in December that Biden’s campaign had considered publicly stating — or at least privately signaling — that he would only serve one term if elected, seen as a strategy to stave off nagging concerns about his age and whether he is as sharp as he used to be. Biden’s team has strongly disputed that a one-term pledge was ever under consideration

But it has nevertheless continued to dog him, including being asked about it in an interview published Friday with the New York Times editorial board.

“I never hinted that. That is simply not true,” he told the paper. “I don’t know where it came from, but it did not — it came from somebody who in fact, I guess, thinks that they know me and thinks that maybe, I don’t know.”

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