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."
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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
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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