Joe Biden opens up about decision not to run: 'I regret it every day'
Joe Biden knows he made the right decision by not running for president, but he admits that still doesn't keep him from feeling disappointed he isn't. "I regret it every day," the vice president told an NBC affiliate Wednesday in one of the first times he's discussed his Oct. 21 announcement. After months of speculation, Biden decided not to run because, as his family grieved over the death of his son Beau, he said that his window for "mounting a realistic campaign for president" closed.
Still, Biden weighed in on the race once again Wednesday and renewed his pledge to remain "deeply involved." The veep panned the GOP contest as not "very illuminating." "You know the kinds of things that Ted Cruz and Donald Trump were saying were so inconsistent," he said. As for the Democratic primary, Biden applauded Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for "a real robust debate" — though he was quick to add, "as there would've been if I was in the race."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
A fentanyl vaccine may be on the horizonUnder the radar Taking a serious jab at the opioid epidemic
-
The 8 best comedy TV series of 2025the week recommends From quarterlife crises to Hollywood satires, these were the funniest shows of 2025
-
Codeword: December 16, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign