Mr. Joe Biden spoke candidly on Friday about his decision to stay out of the 2016 presidential race, saying that while he still believes he did what was best for his family, he also regrets not becoming president.
Biden said this as he spoke at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, saying, “I had planned on running for president and although it would have been a very difficult primary, I think I could have won. Maybe not, I don’t know.”
He continued to say he “lost a part of his soul” when his son, former Delaware attorney general Beau Biden, died in 2015 of brain cancer.
Biden was visibly emotional while talking about his late son, calling him “the finest man I’ve ever known in my life.” He said while he doesn’t regret spending time with his family rather than on the campaign trail after Beau’s death, he still thinks about what could have been.
“Do I regret not being president? Yes,” he said. The former vice president has previously hinted he may pursue the presidency in 2020.
The former vice president also spoke on the failure of the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, saying the GOP was so focused on repealing former President Barack Obama’s signature law that they missed an opportunity to reform the legislation and make it better.
He predicted that future battles would play out similarly if Trump ignores the ways in which “the public has moved beyond their government,” noting the country’s progress on issues like same-sex marriage.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, but they’re not entitled to their own facts,” he said. “Those fights that he wins on these issues will cause [the GOP] to lose in 2018.”
Later in his remarks, he argued that the failed vote shows the necessity of electing members of Congress willing to challenge the president.
“It’s hard to stand up to a president,” Biden said. “It’s hard to be the deciding vote.”
Earlier this week, Biden appeared at a rally at the U.S. Capitol in opposition to the GOP health care bill, where he predicted the legislation would fail. Wih msn.com
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