Vice President Joe Biden announced he will not seek the United States presidency Wednesday afternoon after months of speculation.
In his announcement, Biden said the decision comes after much reflection on the tragedy his family recently experienced when Beau Biden, Joe Biden’s son, died of brain cancer in late May. Joe Biden said although he and his family had passed through the hardest part of their mourning process, he no longer had time to mount a successful campaign.
“Unfortunately, I believe we’re out of time — the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination,” Joe Biden said in his announcement.
Joe Biden’s decision clears a potential hurdle that Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic hopefuls would have had to navigate if Biden had chosen differently. Joe Biden said in his announcement however that he intends to be as active as possible in the election.
“But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent,” Joe Biden said. “ I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully, to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation.”