--- title: Joe Biden President: He Says He 'May Not Get There' on Run description: The Vice President says he isn't certain he can muster the strength for a campaign against Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. canonical: https://time.com/4042706/joe-biden-white-house-run/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-21T15:47:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:24.998Z article:section: Politics og:title: Biden Says He 'May Not Get There' on White House Run og:description: The Vice President says he isn't certain he can muster the strength for a race. og:url: https://time.com/4042706/joe-biden-white-house-run/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c2f8d71726b79f3/6988648acd1bba5bac6fd437/joe-biden3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Joe Biden And NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Discuss Economy In New York City og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Biden Says He 'May Not Get There' on White House Run twitter:description: The Vice President says he isn't certain he can muster the strength for a race. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c2f8d71726b79f3/6988648acd1bba5bac6fd437/joe-biden3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Biden Says He 'May Not Get There' on White House Run > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3c18c487-6a47-442c-b15e-d5434d5b825e&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Late Night Highlight: See Joe Biden's Emotional Interview About His Late Son Beau [Watch (HLS stream): Late Night Highlight: See Joe Biden's Emotional Interview About His Late Son Beau](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/flpbH2fl.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2015-09-11. Joe Biden opened up about his late son Beau for the first time during an interview with Stephen Colbert on the 'Late Show.'_ by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) and [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) Sep 21, 2015 3:47 PM UTC  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks in support of raising the minimum wage for the state of New York to $15 per hour in New York City, on Sept. 10, 2015 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks in support of raising the minimum wage for the state of New York to $15 per hour in New York City, on Sept. 10, 2015 Andrew Burton—Getty Images by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/) and [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) Sep 21, 2015 3:47 PM UTC Amid continuing speculation about a presidential bid, Vice President Joe Biden told a Catholic magazine that he “may not get there,” suggesting that grief over the loss of his son could keep him out of the race. “I’ve just got to be certain that if I do this I am able to look you in the eye and everyone else say I can give all of my passion and all of my energy and I will not be distracted,” Biden told _America: The National Catholic Review._ “In this moment, is this the best thing for a family as a unit?” he added. Biden is weighing an uphill battle for the Democratic nomination that would pit him against frontrunner Hillary Clinton and upstart Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, among others. After two failed campaigns in 1988 and 2008, he has few illusions about the difficulties of a campaign. Still, a small but enthusiastic chorus of Democrats has called on Biden to run, raising cash through a super PAC and laying the groundwork for campaign infrastructure in key states. But Biden has been as equally as public with his grief over the death of his son Beau Biden and his own limitations. “Everybody thinks it’s all about what do the numbers say? That’s a calculation about what you think is possible,” Biden said. “It all gets down to personal considerations.” For Biden, those considerations include whether his family can weather what everyone has predicted will be a grueling fight for the nomination, and then maybe an even tougher battle against the Republican nominee. “You have no right, as an individual, to decide to run. Your whole family is implicated. Your whole family is engaged and so, for us, it’s a family decision. And I just have to be comfortable that this will be good for the family,” Biden said. **Read More:** [_How Joe Biden Helped a Man With a Childhood Stutter Overcome His Fears_](http://time.com/3944137/joe-biden-help-man/) “It’s not quite there yet and it may not get there in time to make it feasible to be able to run and succeed because there are certain windows that will close,” Biden added. “But if that’s it, that’s it. But it’s not like I can rush it. It either happens or it doesn’t.” While Biden has publicly deliberated over a race, others have tried to smooth the path. A super PAC run by a former aide to Beau Biden popped up, and aides have been telling would-be donors—without any evidence—that the Vice President is certain to run. Separately, these supporters have investigating deadlines for Biden to get on ballots. Biden advisers are split on whether the Vice President will decide to seek the job he twice has sought before. Biden, they say, still wants to be President but doubts his ability to run the difficult race. “If I were to announce to run, I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul,” Biden told members of the Democratic National Committee on a recent call. “And right now, both are pretty well banged up.” In a subsequent interview, Biden told _The Late Show_ host Stephen Colbert that he was hesitant to join the campaign. “I don’t think any man or woman should run for President unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be President and two, they can look at folks out there and say, ‘I promise you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion,’” Biden said. “And I’d be lying if I said that I knew I was there. I’m being completely honest. Other members of the Biden family have told friends that they will back the Vice President if he wants to make another bid. Jill Biden’s spokesman says she would support her husband if there were another campaign—before adding that no decision has been made. **Read Next:** [_Watch Joe Biden’s Heartfelt 2012 Speech About Death and Grief_](http://time.com/3903700/joe-biden-grief/) ## Transcript Vice President Joe Biden is still coping with the death of his son Beau, who died in May. And on the late show with Stephen Colbert, he talked about his loss for the first time in a TV interview. You know, my dad had an expression. He used to say, you know your success is apparent when you turn and look at your child, and realize they turned out better than you. I was a hell of a success, my son was better than me. Biden praised his late son's sense of empathy, something his father noticed when he, at just four- years- old, supported his younger brother after they were both badly injured in the accident Accident that killed his mother and sister. And he talked about Beau's modesty, telling a story about how he refused to wear his military decorations in public, and wanted the name Biden taken off his uniform so he didn't receive special treatment. But the Vice President said he was inspired by others who battled through tragedies like he did, including the man sitting across from him. Kober lost his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash when he was ten years old. Biden was remarkably honest in the interview, and Kober pointed out his transparency is one of the reasons some Americans are hoping he'll challenge Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. Commentators seem to agree. In the words of one Washington Post writer, where Clinton is struggling with the perception that she is neither honest nor trustworthy, Biden is all honesty. Where Clinton is cautious and closed off, Biden is spontaneous and an open book. Biden did talk to Colbert about a presidential run, saying he wasn't quite ready to devote himself fully to the office. 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