Vice President Biden discusses his choice not to run for president https://t.co/6OZtrfIwim https://t.co/xSOJIgIfx6
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 29, 2016
Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday dismissed the idea that Hillary Clinton’s struggles make him wish he’d run for president, saying his decision was entirely about his son’s death.
{mosads}”I didn’t run for one simple overarching reason. My son was dying and he died,” Biden told CNN’s Michael Smerconish after being asked whether the FBI’s new probe into Clinton’s emails makes him wish he’d run.
Biden’s eldest son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in May 2015. The vice president announced last October that he would not seek a bid for the Democratic nomination, after months of speculation and conflicting reports about his plans.
“I have great respect for Hillary. I have great respect for other people who’ve run. But you don’t make a decision based on another person,” Biden told CNN.
“I didn’t not run because Hillary’s running. I didn’t run because my son’s not here.”
FBI director James Comey on Friday sent a letter to lawmakers informing them that his agency is probing newly discovered emails related to the investigation into Clinton’s private email server.
In the same Saturday interview, Biden called Comey “tough” but “straight” and expressed confidence he will be fair to Clinton.