United States Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that he will not be seeking presidency in the 2016 election. Biden ended months of intense speculation about his political future with a hastily organised press conference at the White House. With his wife Jill and President Barack Obama at his side, Biden said that the window to “mount a winning campaign for the nomination” had closed. The 72-year-old also mentioned personal reasons, noting his family's grief following the death of his son, Beau, in May.

Biden was first elected to the US Senate from Delaware in 1973 and his more than four-decade-long political career included two runs at the presidency. His announcement on Wednesday removed a potential threat to the campaign of Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton, who was sure to lose support had the vice-president jumped in, reported the Guardian. In a statement, Clinton called Biden “a good man and a great vice-president”. The Republicans also greeted the announcement with heartfelt tributes.