‘I believe we’re out of time’: Joe Biden not running for president

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden finally pulled the plug on his presidential ambitions Wednesday, while issuing a veiled warning to Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton not to stray from the Obama administration’s agenda.

“Unfortunately, I believe we’re out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination,” Biden, 72, said at a hastily called White House Rose Garden announcement.

“But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent,” he vowed.

Then, in a wide-ranging speech that touched on education reform, tax deductions and even cancer research, Biden warned, “This party, our nation, will be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the Obama legacy.

“Democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on the record,” Biden said.

Clinton in recent weeks has come out against the administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, drilling in the Arctic and the Keystone pipeline to separate herself from Obama as she fends off a challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In another jab at the former secretary of state, Biden blasted “mean spirited” politics, adding, “I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition . . . And for the sake of the country, we have to work together.”

Clinton at the first Democratic debate mentioned Republicans as being the enemy she most relished having.

Despite the hits at Clinton, Biden’s decision to opt out gives her campaign an instant boost.

“Its’ a great day for her,” one seasoned Democratic consultant told The Post.

“Biden would have been a second front for her.”

In a CNN/ORC poll this week, Clinton led Sanders 45 percent to 29 percent nationally, with Biden in the race. Without Biden, her lead grew to 56 to 33 percent.

Donald Trump welcomed Biden’s decision Wednesday.

“Personally, I would rather run against Hillary because her record is so bad,” Trump tweeted.

Clinton phoned Biden immediately after his remarks, calling him “a good man and a great vice president,” according to a statement released Wednesday.

Biden was flanked by his wife, Jill, and President Obama at the speech, where he also said he’d dedicate himself to finding a cure for cancer, the disease that led to his son Beau’s death at 46.