Joe Biden Announces He Will Not Run For President A Third Time

Joe Biden announced Wednesday morning that he has decided not to run a third time for President of the United States.

Joe Biden Not Running

Biden, with President Barack Obama at his side, announced from the White House Rose Garden that, after months of deliberation, he would not seek the presidency.

“I’ve said all along, what I’ve said time and again to others, that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on a realistic campaign for president,” Biden said. “I’ve concluded, it has closed.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, the speculation about Biden joining the Democratic primary field had been heating up. On Tuesday night, Twitter was flooded with posts that suggested Biden was testing out a strategy to run against Hillary Clinton with thinly-veiled criticisms and a way to separate himself from the former Secretary of State.

“It is necessary to end this notion that the enemy is the other party, end this notion that it’s naive to think we can speak well of the other party and cooperate,” Biden said at a dinner to honor former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Many believed the remark was a reaction to Clinton’s declaration that she was proud of making enemies of Republicans – and a clear sign that Biden was ready to put his name on the Democratic primary ticket. He had previously run to be the Democratic nominee for president in 1988 and 2008.

With Biden officially out, Clinton will continue to compete against Sen. Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee. Jim Webb, who participated in the debate earlier this month, has since dropped out of the race.