Joe Biden: ‘I Regret That I Am Not President’

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Former Vice President Joe Biden has long been frank about his presidential ambitions — and this time was no exception.

“I have a regret that I am not President, because I think there is so much opportunity,” Biden said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, an excerpt of which was obtained by ABC News’ Good Morning America. “I think America is incredibly well positioned.”

Biden had been toying with a run for the presidency in 2016, but that process came to a halt after his eldest son Beau died of brain cancer in May of 2015. Biden announced that October of that year that he had decided not to run, explaining that his family was still recovering from Beau’s death.

“No woman or man should announce that they are running for President unless they can answer two questions. One, do they truly believe they are the most qualified, which I think I was, but was I prepared to give my whole heart, my whole soul, all my attention to the endeavor?” Biden told Oprah. “And I knew I wasn’t.”

Biden’s new memoir, Promise Me Dad, which chronicles his experience with his son’s illness while being Vice President, will be released on November 14.

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Write to Alana Abramson at Alana.Abramson@time.com