Former United States President Barack Obama had nudged former Vice President Joe Biden to not run for the president in 2015, saying the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton had a better chance of winning.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Obama "gently pressed" Biden on his 2016 presidential ambitions over several weeks. He then ultimately asked his strategist to apprise Biden of his odds of winning against US President Donald Trump.
"The president was not encouraging," Biden later acknowledged.
The revelation comes days after Biden announced that he will run for his candidacy for the presidential nomination for 2020 elections.
The 76-year-old will be competing with 20 other candidates including heavyweights like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to win Democratic nomination.
"I asked President Obama not to endorse," Biden said last week. "Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits."
Obama, recently, praised Biden but stopped short of issuing an endorsement.
"President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made," Katie Hill, a spokesperson for Obama, said in a statement.
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