US Vice President Joe Biden opts out of presidential race

US Vice President Joe Biden has announced he will not run for President in 2016.

Speaking at the White House, the 72-year-old said he would opt out of a third bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The announcement comes after weeks of speculation on whether he would try to challenge his party’s frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.

Biden had in recent months suggested he would vie for the top job but he said he was still grieving the death of his son Beau. Beau, former Attorney General of Delaware, died of brain cancer in early June at the age of 46.

“As my family and I have worked through the grieving process,” he said. “I’ve said all along that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president."

Biden promised to remain active during the campaign and thanked the president for lending him the Rose Garden.

“I will not be silent. I will speak clearly and forcefully … on where we stand as a nation and where the country needs to go."