Obama pushed Biden not to run in 2016: NY Times

The former President Obama in 2015 pushed the former vice president Joe BidenJoseph's Jake Tapper (Joe) Robinette BidenCNN urges Conway on Trump's response in Charlottesville: Was it "perfect?" Why Democrats Should Name a Moderate Presidential Candidate, Seth Moulton: Biden Should Apologize to Anita Hill MORE do not run for president in 2015, the New York Times reported Sunday.

According to the Times, Obama "gently squeezed" Biden's 2016 presidential ambitions for several weeks. He then finally asked a strategist to provide Biden with a discouraging assessment of his chances in the race against the rider then in the lead Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocrats face a new civil war in the main fight Trump rails against political elites during the great media night in Washington Dems raises concerns about bias with promises against male runners MORE.

"The president was not encouraging," Biden said later, according to the Times.

Obama believed at the time that Clinton, who would become the Democratic candidate for president and would lose to President TrumpDonald John Trump2020 Dem Seth Moulton: Trump is not a patriot Celebs relax at the Capitol File After the WHCD Graham party: "I do not care" whether Trump tells McGahn to return Mueller MORE in the general election, had the best chance of winning, according to the Times. Obama also did not think Biden was in the right state of mind to campaign for the presidency after the death of his son, Beau, the newspaper reported.

Biden finally did not ask for the Democratic nomination for the presidency during this election, evoking the "grieving process" that followed the death of his son from brain cancer.

The revelation that Obama encouraged Biden not to run comes just days after Biden officially launched his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Biden has already been tied to Obama during his election campaign, although he claimed to have asked Obama not to support him.

"I asked President Obama not to subscribe," Biden said last week. "Whoever wins this nomination should win it on his own merits."

Obama congratulated his former vice president in a statement following the launch of Biden's election campaign.