Biden announces he won’t run for president
WASHINGTON — U.S. VicePresident Joe Biden will not run for president in 2016, ending a months-long flirtation with a third White House campaign and setting him on a path toward the end of his decades-long political career.
Biden announced his decision Wednesday, finalizing the Democratic field of White House candidates and bolstering Hillary Rodham Clinton’s standing as the front-runner by sparing her a challenge from the popular politician.
In an appearance in the White House Rose Garden, Biden said he always knew that the window for a viable campaign might close before he could determine whether his family was emotionally prepared for another campaign so soon after the death of his son Beau from brain cancer in May. Biden said his family was prepared to back him, but that he nonetheless would not be a candidate.
“Unfortunately, I believe we’re out of time,” he said, flanked by U.S. President Barack Obama and Biden’s wife, Jill.
Encouraged by Democrats seeking an alternative to Clinton, Biden had spent several months engaged in discussions with his family and political advisers about entering the primary. Yet as the deliberations dragged on, Democrats began questioning whether it was too late for him to run, a notion that hardened after Clinton’s strong performance in last week’s Democratic debate.
Notably, Biden did not endorse any of the Democratic candidates. Instead, he outlined the path he said Democrats should take in the 2016 campaign, including a call for them to run on Obama’s record. In what could have been a campaign speech, Biden called for expanding access to college educations and called on Democrats to recognize that while Republicans may be the opposition, they are “not our enemy.”
“While I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent,” Biden said.
The announcement was a letdown for Biden supporters who had pleaded with him to run. For months, the 72-year-old Democrat made front pages and appeared on cable news screens as pundits mused about his prospects and Clinton’s perceived vulnerability. A political action committee, Draft Biden, was formed with the goal of getting him into the race.
At the White House, aides and Biden loyalists had prepared for a potential bid, putting together a campaign-inwaiting should he decide to jump in.