Joe Biden's Biography
Joe Biden is an American politician and Democrat who gained recognition for his influential work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He served as the Vice President of the United States under Barack Obama. In 2020, he launched his third presidential campaign, defeated incumbent president Donald Trump, and became the 46th president.
Childhood and Family
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the first child of Joseph Robinette Biden and Catherine Eugenia Biden (née Finnegan), was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 1942. Joe, as his family called him, grew up with a sister and two brothers. His parents raised them in the Catholic faith. Joe inherited Irish roots from his mother's side and English and French roots from his father's side.
From childhood, Joe struggled with a severe stutter that complicated his interactions with peers and his studies, but he overcame this challenge by spending hours each day practicing in front of a mirror and reciting poetry.
Education
The future politician studied at St. Helena Elementary School in Wilmington. After graduating, he enrolled at Archmere Academy, where he joined the football team and showed solid performance on the field. Joe also played baseball. According to his classmates, he was an average student, but he displayed exceptional leadership qualities: Biden actively participated in student life and was elected class president multiple times.
Beginning of Political Career
In the late 1960s, Biden began practicing law. Initially, he worked for a few months at a law firm, then became a public defender. By 1970, he co-founded Biden and Walsh, a law firm that handled criminal and corporate cases while also managing properties.
Biden served on the County Council while continuing his law practice for about two years, from 1970 to 1972.
Senate
In November 1973, Joe became a senator from Delaware. He made history as the youngest U.S. senator, being just thirty years old.
The campaign lacked support and funding, and Joe's sister, Valerie Biden Owens, managed it with almost all family members working on it. Joe's platform was printed on cheap newsprint. Campaign volunteers handed out basic leaflets to people on the streets and voters at personal meetings.
Joe's main opponent was Republican James Caleb Boggs, who had President Nixon's support. But his establishment backing couldn't match young Biden's energy, the appeal of his political platform, and his ability to connect emotionally with voters.
As a senator, Biden participated in drafting and implementing many bills, including the controversial and strict 1984 "Anti-Crime Law." It expanded criminal liability for cyber fraud and hostage-taking, increased penalties for marijuana cultivation and sales, and allowed property seizure from organized crime members.
Biden strongly opposed forced busing for racial integration in schools. He believed that "forced busing would create a racial jungle," comments that sparked protests from his constituents.
Through his work on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden was named one of the "Twelve People Who Changed the World." He played a leading role in several significant foreign policy issues, including expanding NATO's influence. Biden was one of the initiators of investigating war crimes in Bosnia and prosecuting Slobodan Milošević. He also supported removing Saddam Hussein, who he said was a threat to national security.
Presidential Campaigns
Joe Biden first ran for president in 1988. He built minority support by criticizing Secretary of State George P. Shultz's advocacy for South Africa's apartheid system. But he centered his campaign around young professionals and Jewish voters.On the campaign trail, he called on Americans to reject "simple material consumption" and "unchecked individualism."
But Biden's dream of becoming the youngest president—a new JFK-style figure to inspire America—wasn't meant to be. He dropped out after plagiarism accusations surfaced—voters noticed his words were strikingly similar to British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock's campaign speeches. Though the Delaware Supreme Court later dismissed the accusations, it also came to light that he'd been caught plagiarizing during law school. He got an "F" but was allowed to retake the course and ultimately earned an excellent grade.We must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society, for nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference.
2020 Presidential Election
In 2020, Joe Biden made his third bid for the presidency. His presidential campaign began in the spring of 2019, and in August, he announced that Kamala Harris would be his vice-presidential candidate, the first Asian and African American woman nominated for this position.Biden's program also includes environmental protection measures, such as reducing shale oil extraction, which earned praise from Greta Thunberg, strengthening healthcare, especially for rural hospitals, and rebuilding America's infrastructure with a planned $1.3 trillion investment.
On November 7, Biden was declared the winner after securing a majority of electoral votes – at least 273 out of the required 270. Biden won California, the nation's most populous state, securing 55 electoral votes, as well as Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Colorado, and New England states.
Donald Trump refused to concede defeat. But on December 14, the Electoral College officially confirmed Biden's victory: 306 electoral votes went to Biden, and 232 to Trump.
Presidential Term
Right from the start of Joe Biden's presidency, he was hit with massive challenges. He had to deal with the fallout from Trump supporters' protests that turned into the Capitol attack, plus the raging coronavirus crisis. Even with lockdowns and vaccines rolling out, people kept getting sick, and the country divided into "vaxxers" and "anti-vaxxers" - those for and against mass COVID-19 vaccination.
In February 2022, Joe Biden launched a counterterrorism operation in northern Syria that killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
That same month, Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Biden had warned Russia about the consequences beforehand and followed through: Ukraine got record financial support (over $40 billion). On May 9, Biden signed a lend-lease act modeled after the World War II version.
On the domestic front, Biden signed gun control legislation in June 2022. The move came after a wave of school shootings.
In August, Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, pumping over $50 billion into semiconductor research.
In October, Biden - who'd promised to decriminalize marijuana during his campaign - pardoned everyone convicted of possessing small amounts of the drug. The law affected approximately 6,500 people.
Joe Biden's Personal Life: Wife and Children
Joe first met his future wife in 1964. Neilia Hunter, like him, studied at Syracuse University. They had three children: daughter Naomi and sons Hunter and Beau.
Suddenly a widower with two young sons, Joe considered leaving politics entirely, but in 1975 he met Jill Tracy Jacobs, a young teacher who, he says, reignited his passion for public service. Joe and Jill married in 1977, and four years later, their daughter Ashley Blazer Biden was born.
Joe Biden Now
Joe Biden was planning another presidential run in 2024. In April 2023, he officially announced his candidacy. But after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump in late June 2024 (67% of viewers declared Trump the winner), even Biden's loyal supporters began questioning his mental sharpness.At first, Biden stuck to his guns despite mounting pressure from Democratic Party leaders. He acknowledged his age but still believed he was fit to lead the country:
The first Democrats to publicly call for Biden to step aside were Representatives Lloyd Doggett (Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (Arizona). The calls kept growing, and soon major Democratic donors (like Netflix founder Reed Hastings) pulled their funding from Biden's campaign.I don't walk as easy as I used to, I don't speak as smoothly as I used to, I don't debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know... I know how to tell the truth
On July 11, during the NATO summit's closing ceremony, Biden mixed up Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (calling Putin Ukraine's president) and mistakenly referred to Donald Trump as his vice president instead of Kamala Harris. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries bluntly told Biden that Democrats would lose if he stayed in the race.
On July 17, Biden said he'd consider dropping out if he developed serious health problems. On the same day, the White House announced that the president had tested positive for coronavirus. The New York Times reported a Democratic Party split: Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama wanted Biden out, while the Clintons backed the president and urged donors to keep funding his campaign.
On July 21, Biden announced he was dropping out and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his replacement.