Former President Barack Obama on Thursday praised his former Vice President Joe Biden after he launch his 2020 presidential campaign — but noticeably stopped short of endorsing him as a candidate.

Obama in a statement released through his spokeswoman Katie Hill said. “He relied on the Vice president’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaign and the entire presidency.”

President Obama has long said that picking Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made, The two forged a special bond throughout their tenure and remain close today.

In a video posted on Twitter, Joe Biden officially joined the pool of Democrat presidential contest on Thursday, declaring the soul of the nation at stake if President Donald Trump wins re-election.

Biden focused on the deadly clash that occur Charlottesville, Virginia 2017 between white supremacists and far-left counter-protesters. He repeated the hoax claim that President Trump praised the former group as “very fine people.”

The core values of this nation… our standing in the world… our very democracy…everything that has made America — America –is at stake. That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States. #Joe2020 https://t.co/jzaQbyTEz3 — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 25, 2019

“We are in the battle for the soul of this nation,” Biden said. “If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are. And I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”

Biden instantly became the front-runner alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is leading many polls and has proved to be a successful fundraiser.

3 things to know about the former vice president

He first bid for the presidency came over three decades ago

As a 45-year-old senator from Delaware, Biden launched his first campaign in 1987 at the Wilmington train station. The first campaign didn’t last long, ending after it became public that he had plagiarized a speech from a British politician, according to the Delaware News Journal.

His second bid began in 2007, but he dropped out in 2008 after failing to gain enough support. Biden ultimately went on to serve as vice president for two terms under Barack Obama.

In 2016, there was much speculation that Biden would again announce a bid for president, but he decided against running for personal reasons. His son, Beau, had died in 2015 after battling brain cancer.

2. His choice of transportation is the Amtrak train

Aptly nicknamed “Amtrak Joe,” Biden had long been a fixture on the rail line between his home in Delaware and his office in Washington D.C.

Biden began taking the train home every night to care for his two sons after his wife and daughter died in a car accident in 1972, according to the Washington Post.

He carried on the Amtrak tradition throughout his decades-long Senate career. Biden’s affinity for the train gained national attention when he became Obama’s running mate in 2008.

3. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Barack Obama presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Jan. 12, 2017. (The Associated Press)

In January 2017, outgoing President Obama surprised Biden with the President Medal of Freedom in an emotional ceremony.

“To know Joe Biden is to know love without pretense, service without self-regard, and to live life fully,” Obama said.

Biden tearfully accepted the honor.

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