VP Joe Biden says he will not run for president
WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden will not run for president in 2016, he said today, ending a months-long flirtation with a third White House campaign.
Biden's decision finalizes the Democratic field of White House candidates and bolsters Hillary Rodham Clinton's standing as the front-runner by sparing her a challenge from the popular vice president.
In an extraordinary appearance in the White House Rose Garden, Biden said he always knew the window for a viable campaign might close before he could determine whether his family was emotionally prepared for another campaign so soon after losing his son, Beau Biden, 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 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.
Notably, he did not endorse Clinton or any of the other Democratic candidates. Instead, he used the announcement to outline the path he said Democrats should take in the 2016 campaign, including a call for them to run on Obama's record.
