After the death of his son Beau, many speculated that Joe Biden would consider a run for Presidency in the 2016 race, presenting a formidable challenge to current frontrunner Hillary Clinton. According to the Vice President, these were not the last wishes of his dying son, as many had reported. After announcing he would not be seeking the nomination, Joe Biden says his decision not to run for President was inspired by his family.

Mr. Biden said the decision was inspired by the tears of his eleven-year-old granddaughter, whose difficulty in the grieving process he could not ignore. According to The New York Times, Mr. Biden was reminded of a moment by his swimming pool over the summer when his granddaughter, Natalie, was sitting on his lap.

"[She] turns around and puts her arms around me and starts sobbing and says: 'Pop, I see Daddy all the time. I see Daddy all the time. Pop, you smell like Daddy. You're not going to leave me, are you, Pop?'"

In an interview televised on Sunday night on CBS's 60 Minutes, Biden expounded upon his decision.


Biden said in the interview he felt he "couldn't win" even if he attempted to clinch the nomination.

He acknowledged that his long public delay in making a decision hurt him in the long run, and solidified his decision not to run.

"It just takes time," Mr. Biden said to the interviewer, Norah O'Donnell. "And until you get there, you know, it's not - not an appropriate thing to throw your - and by the way, you can't run for president unless you throw your entire being into it."

Biden said his wife was adamant that he run, telling him he was the only one capable of uniting the party, and his Presidency would ensure Democratic Supreme Court nominations and comprehensive education reform.

Biden said, "If I thought we could've put together the campaign that our supporters deserve and our contributors deserved, I would have gone ahead and done it."

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