US Vice President Joe Biden said he would not be a candidate in next year’s US presidential elections, solidifying former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton’s status as the Democratic front-runner and the party’s likely heir to US President Barack Obama’s legacy.
Standing under bright sun in the White House Rose Garden, Biden on Wednesday — after months of tortured indecision — spoke movingly about mourning the recent death of his son, Beau, a process he said does not match the political calendar.
While he said his family was emotionally prepared to undertake a grueling presidential campaign, they arrived at that decision too late for him to mount a credible bid for a job that has long been the north star of his political ambitions.
“Unfortunately, I believe we’re out of time,” said Biden, flanked by his wife, Jill, and the president.
Biden’s decision puts to rest the uncertainty hanging over the Democratic primary. The race now is likely to settle into a two-person contest between Clinton and US Senator Bernie Sanders, who has energized the party’s liberal base, but lacks Clinton’s campaign infrastructure and support from party leaders.
Biden was seen by some Democrats as an ideal blend of Clinton’s establishment credentials and Sanders’ populist appeal. Interest in his potential candidacy was fueled both by an outpouring of affection after his son succumbed to cancer in May and the persistent questions about Clinton’s viability, particularly amid revelations about her controversial e-mail use at the US Department of State.
However, Clinton appeared to calm nervous supporters with a commanding performance in last week’s first Democratic debate. What was already a narrow path to the presidency for Biden appeared to get even smaller.
In a written statement on Wednesday, Clinton praised Biden’s “unyielding faith in America’s promise” and said she expected he would “always be on the front lines, always fighting for all of us.”
The two spoke by telephone shortly after the vice president concluded his remarks.
Biden notably did not endorse a candidate in the Democratic race. Instead, he delivered a 13-minute speech that very well could have been a platform for the campaign he would never run.
He decried the role of big money in politics and touted the importance of reducing income inequality and making college education more accessible, issues with significant support among liberals.
He also repeated a veiled criticism of Clinton that had crept into his speeches in recent days, saying Democrats should not view Republicans as their enemies.
Clinton said in the debate that she was proud to count the Republicans among the enemies she has made during her political career.
Biden’s decision gives Clinton a boost heading into her testimony yesterday before a Republican-led House committee investigating the deadly attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, three years ago.
Even as he signaled the end of a political career that began in 1972 at age 29, Biden made clear he had no plans to quietly fade into the background.
“While I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent,” he vowed.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in