While Vice President Joe Biden says he knows 2016 wasn't the right time for him to run for president, he still can't seem to stop thinking about the possibility. Biden told ABC News in an interview that aired Wednesday that before his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in May 2015, he had every intention of launching a bid for the Democratic nomination. "I had planned on running," Biden said. "It's an awful thing to say. I think I would have been the best president."
But his decision to pass on the presidency was "the right thing, not just for my family, [but] for me," Biden admitted. "No one should ever seek the presidency unless they're able to devote their whole heart and soul and passion into just doing that," he said. "And Beau was my soul. I just wasn't ready to be able to do that."
Article continues belowThe 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.
Watch Biden's interview with ABC News, below. Becca Stanek