Vice President Joe Biden says that he is still weighing a 2016 presidential bid but that he “may not get there in time” to mount a feasible run.
In an interview with Catholic organization America Media, Biden said that he needs to be “comfortable that this will be good for the family.”
“We’re just not – 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,” he said. “But if that’s it, that’s it. But it’s not like I could rush it.”
The vice president acknowledged that his continued mulling of a bid may be confusing to those seeking a definitive answer on his intentions.
“I know that’s not satisfying anybody, but people who have been there, I know they understand it,” he said.
The interview, which centered largely on Biden’s Catholic faith in advance of the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, was conducted on September 17 and released Monday morning.
Over the weekend, NBC’s Chuck Todd reported that Biden’s wife, Jill, is not an obstacle to a potential run. Biden has maintained that his priority is the well-being of his entire family, which is still reeling from the death of son Beau Biden earlier this year.
In the interview, Biden told questioner Father Matt Malone that he's focused on discussing the positive aspects of his son's life.
"We’ve all decided, Father, that we don’t want to talk so much any more about, publicly or even privately, the loss," he said. "We want to talk about the inspiration.”
