Speed Reads
After months of speculation, Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he will not be running for president in 2016. President Obama and Biden's wife, Jill Biden, stood by his side as he gave a statement in the Rose Garden. Biden attributed his decision to not join the race — despite supporters' pleas to run — to his family's ongoing grieving process following his son Beau's death last spring.
"I believe we're out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination," Biden said, while stressing that he will spend his next 15 months in office being vocal about the 2016 campaign. "While I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent," he said.