Joe Biden will not run for US president, ending months of tortured speculation that he would challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
Flanked by President Barack Obama in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Biden said his family was recovering from the loss of his son Beau to cancer this year and had concluded there was no window left to mount a credible challenge against the four Democrats in the race.
“As the family and I have worked through the grieving process, I’ve said all along . . . that it may very well be that the process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president,” he said. “I’ve concluded it has closed.”