Joe Biden told Stephen Colbert on Thursday's "Late Night" show that he still isn't sure he's up for a presidential campaign months after the death of his son.
"I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, number two, they can look at folks out there and say, 'I promise you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy and my passion to do this,'" Biden said. "And I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there."
In an unusually personal and emotional discussion, Biden told the story of how his son said to him two months before his death "Dad, you gotta promise me your gonna be alright." Beau Biden died in May from brain cancer. The vice president said he would be letting his son down "if I didn't just get up."
Watch part one of this remarkable interview:
The loss of his son, who reportedly urged his father to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's nomination, has taken a tremendous emotional toll on him, Biden said. He described a recent incident at a military base in which a soldier told him he had served with his son, who was an Army National Guard major, in Iraq. "All of the sudden, I just lost it," Biden said.
This is part two of the Biden interview:
Biden's booking as a guest on just the third episode of Colbert's hosting of the CBS show raised speculation that Biden was gearing up for a presidential campaign. But when Colbert pressed him to use the show to make the announcement, the vice president told the comedian "I think you should run for president and I'll be your vice president."
Colbert, who said "Everybody likes Joe," encouraged Biden to join the 2016 race. "I think we'd all be very happy if you did run."
Colbert and Biden both radiate empathy. It's why that interview not only worked but also will go down as one of best in modern TV era.
-- Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) September 11, 2015
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