Vice President Joe Biden Will Not Run in 2016

Vice President Joe Biden will not seek the presidency in 2016.

Joined by President Barack Obama and his wife Jill, Biden made the announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House on Wednesday. He reflected on the possibility that the death of his son Bo and his family’s grieving process might have caused his window of opportunity to wane.

“I’ve concluded, it has closed,” Biden said. “Bo is our inspiration. Unfortunately, I believe we’re out of time—the time necessary to mount a winning campaign.”

Biden vowed to remain a vocal Democratic presence on the campaign trail, and defended the Obama administration’s record. Though he did not endorse a Democratic candidate, Biden did take a subtle jab at frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

“We shouldn’t look at Republicans as our enemies. They’re our opposition,” he said, referring to an answer Clinton gave at the CNN debate, in which she mentioned Republicans in her list of enemies she proudest of making.

Biden said he would spend his remaining 15 months in office fighting for cancer research.