Joe Biden says he 'couldn't win' presidential election

In an interview that aired Sunday on 60 Minutes, Vice President Joe Biden said he felt he made the "right decision" for his family by choosing not to run for president.

Biden told Norah O'Donnell he "couldn't win. I'll be very blunt, 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." Biden made his announcement Wednesday, and said it took until Tuesday to make his decision. His son, Beau Biden, died in May at the age of 46 from brain cancer, and the vice president said everybody "grieves at a difference pace" and "any parent listening who's lost a child, knows that it doesn't follow schedules of primaries and caucuses and contributors and the like."

Dr. Jill Biden told O'Donnell she was "disappointed" that her husband decided not to run, and thought he "would be a great president." One thing that drove Biden "crazy" was hearing the press constantly report that he was about to announce his intentions, and he said it wasn't until Wednesday morning that he called President Obama to let him know his decision. When he delivered his speech in the White House Rose Garden, Biden said he was "making the case that I do want to influence the Democratic Party. I want to make no bones about that. I don't want the party walking away from what Barack and I did." He also said he didn't make any pointed references to Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton: "I like Hillary. Hillary and I get along together. The only reason to run is because I still think I could do a better job than anybody else could do."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

When asked about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Biden said he was "disappointed" in him. "I know what a showman and all that he is, but I really don't think it's healthy and I hope he reconsiders this sort of attack on all immigrants," he added. "I think that is beneath the country. I don't think it's where the American people are. And I hope he really doesn't believe it." Catherine Garcia