Biden: I regret not being president

Former Vice President Joe Biden late Friday night voiced regret about his decision not to run for president, predicting if he had secured the Democratic nomination he could have won against Donald Trump.

“I had planned on running for president and although it would have been a very difficult primary, I think I could have won,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe not. But I thought I could have won.”

“I had a lot of data and I was fairly confident that if I were the Democratic Party’s nominee, I had a better than even chance of being president,” Biden continued.

Biden explained that he didn’t regret the time he was able to spend with his son Beau Biden, who later died after battling cancer.

“But do I regret not being president? Yes,” Biden said. “I was the best qualified.”

His remarks came during a speech at Colgate University in Hamilton New York, which was largely focused on helping the middle class.

Biden explained in emotional terms that because of his son’s illness he felt he couldn’t run and that he had “lost part of my soul” when Beau passed.

He said he couldn’t run and give his full attention to the presidency during that time, and that he doesn’t regret spending the time he would have spent campaigning with his family instead.

Updated: 9:25 p.m.