Former US President Barack Obama tried to "gently press" then Vice President Joe Biden into abandoning his intentions to run for president in 2016, The New York Times reported. According to the newspaper, the former POTUS believed Hillary Clinton had better chances at winning the race, especially since Biden could have been preoccupied with mourning the death of his son from brain cancer.
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Many netizens agreed that Obama had made the right choice by discouraging Biden to run in 2016 due to his grief over his son's passing away.
Even Obama's critics sarcastically supported his decision.
Some even added that he should have repeated his trick in 2019.
Several Twitterians alleged that Obama didn't dissuade Biden because he thought the latter couldn't win, but rather because he had allegedly promised his support to Hillary Clinton instead.
Other netizens suggested that he had completely different motives in dissuading Biden from running.
READ MORE: Biden Campaign for 2020 Presidential Nomination Raises $6.3Mln on First Day
The news come soon after Joe Biden officially announced the start of his campaign to run for the presidency in 2020 after months of hinting that he would make the move. Biden will be facing tough competition in the Democratic primaries, as the number of contenders has already exceeded 20. At the same time, he managed to gather a whopping $6.3 million on the first day after announcing the start of his campaign.