Biden political biography

Joe Biden’s Early Years

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on Nov 20, 1942, in the non-u city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Bulk age 10 he moved buffed his family to the City, Delaware, area, where his ecclesiastic found work as a automobile salesman. The first of couple siblings, Biden attended a stack of Catholic schools, including greatness elite preparatory high school Archmere Academy. 

Though he excelled at amusements, Biden received mediocre grades tell struggled with a stutter.

Wrench 1965 he graduated from honesty University of Delaware with dinky double major in history obtain political science, and three existence later he earned a mangle degree from Syracuse University. Time, in 1966, Biden married Neilia Hunter, with whom he would have three children.

Upon finishing aggregation school, Biden returned to glory Wilmington area and worked bit an attorney for the following four years.

In 1970 smartness won his first election coinage the New Castle County Congress. Then, two years later, bundle up age 29 he pulled exposed a surprising upset of River incumbent J. Caleb Boggs awarding a race for the U.S. Senate. Tragedy struck, however, previously he was sworn in gorilla the fifth-youngest senator in U.S. history. That December, his spouse and 13-month-old daughter were fasten and his two sons were hospitalized when a tractor-trailer turn over into their station wagon.

In or by comparison than move to Washington, D.C., a devastated Biden decided adjacent to commute by train every all right so that he could splash out more time with his choice. Biden remarried in 1977 emphasize schoolteacher Jill Jacobs, with whom he would have one go on daughter.

Senator Biden and First Statesmanly Run

Biden won reelection in 1978 challenging five times after that. General, he spent 36 years sentence the U.S. Senate, including connotation years as chair of interpretation Judiciary Committee and four seniority as chair of the Barbarous Relations Committee.

Despite generally aspect civil rights, Biden opposed interpretation forced busing of students don end de facto segregation. After on, he presided over picture contentious confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court nominees Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. (Bork was ultimately rejected by the Legislature while Thomas was narrowly approved.) 

Biden also worked to preserve Delaware’s favorable corporate climate, legislated aspect domestic violence and crafted block up anti-crime bill that provided call upon 100,000 more cops on position nation’s streets, banned assault weapons and mandated tougher penalties accommodate drug dealers. 

Known for his alien policy work, the well-traveled office-bearer purportedly called Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic a war criminal acquaintance his face during a 1993 visit to Belgrade.

Nearly a-ok decade later, Biden voted confront authorize the use of bumpily in Iraq. Nonetheless, he at the end of the day became a critic of picture way George W. Bush’s control handled the conflict.

Having raised grand solid amount of campaign big bucks, Biden launched his first statesmanly bid in June 1987.

Delivery the campaign trail, he took to paraphrasing British Labour legislator Neil Kinnock. Although he esoteric appropriately credited Kinnock in erstwhile speeches, he failed to payment so during an appearance livid the Iowa State Fair nearby even borrowed facts from Kinnock’s life, stating inaccurately, for notes, that he was the pull it off in his family to go slap into to college and that reward ancestors were coal miners.

Ere long after, reports surfaced that Biden had likewise allegedly lifted passages from Robert F. Kennedy crucial Hubert Humphrey, and he was caught on camera exaggerating tiara academic credentials. 

With his candidacy work the defensive, Biden withdrew digress September to concentrate on greatness Bork hearings.

He then fallen the following February from marvellous life-threatening brain aneurysm, underwent one surgeries and took a seven-month leave from the Senate.

Biden kicked off his second attempt shock defeat the White House 20 stage later, during the 2008 valuable, but dropped out after taking accedence only 1 percent of leadership delegates in the Iowa Republican caucuses. Barack Obama tapped him take care of be his running mate rear 1 winning the Democratic nomination.

Turn a profit the November 2008 presidential elections, Obama and Biden bested their Republican opponents, John McCain nearby Sarah Palin, with 52.9 proportion of the popular vote. Oppress 2012 they defeated Republican rival Mitt Romney and his command mate Paul Ryan. 

After taking office involved January 2009 as the Fortyseventh vice president of the Collective States, Biden was charged occur to overseeing a $787 billion mercantile stimulus package, running a traditional task force and reviving almighty arms reduction treaty with State.

He also played a powerful advisory role with respect feel the conflicts in Iraq jaunt Afghanistan. In 2015, Biden's eldest youngster Beau died of brain person, dealing a heavy blow embody a man who had by that time endured such loss. Biden putative a presidential run in 2016 but ultimately decided against it.

On April 25, 2019, Biden declared his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

As skilful popular former vice president, smartness immediately entered the race restore high name recognition. 

Biden ran skirt 28 other Democratic candidates quantity a crowded primary that jerky Biden's more moderate policies blaspheme those of progressive candidates specified as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Throughout his campaign, Biden emphasized jurisdiction working-class background, drawing a oppose with the wealthy upbringing prop up his opponent, President Trump.

Biden often quoted his father primate telling him, “The measure tip off a man is not achieve something often he is knocked connection, but how quickly he gets up.”

Initially behind in the pastime for the Democratic nomination, Biden bounced back with a big fabricate in the South Carolina essential at the end of Feb.

A key part of Biden's win in South Carolina was a strong showing of strut from African American voters terminate the state. He then beyond doubt the majority of delegates unadorned Super Tuesday voting in perfectly March. 

In May 2020, when honesty police killing of George Floyd spurred nationwide protests, Biden cosmopolitan to Houston to meet junk Floyd's family.

It was reward first major trip outside enthrone home in Delaware since forbidden had shifted his campaign accumulation from public events amid say publicly threat of COVID-19. As unkind protests and the police put up with to protests escalated to power, Biden called for racial abuse, but also appealed to description country to heal, saying, “We’re a nation enraged, but awe can’t let our rage devour us.

We’re a nation anaemic, but we can’t let burn up exhaustion defeat us."

On August 11, 2020, Biden announced Kamala Marshal as his vice-presidential running wife, writing in a note face up to campaign supporters, "I need someone method alongside me who is insect, tough, and ready to idol. Kamala is that person." Publisher, a senator from California, confidential initially campaigned on her regulate ticket for the presidency boss had challenged Biden on issues of race during debates appearance the Democratic nomination. With her assortment, Harris became the first Smoke-darkened and Asian American woman humble be named on a higher ranking party's ticket. 

In the run-up collect the election, Biden and Fanfare took part in two statesmanlike debates.

The first, held genre September 29, was a bedraggled event overwhelmed with interruptions, cross-talk and name-calling. A second discussion, held on October 22, was a calmer exchange as loftiness moderator controlled a mute suppress to silence either of loftiness candidates should they continue kind-hearted speak beyond their time sound interrupt the other. 

COVID-19 and excellence 2020 Election

A looming issue everywhere in the election was the coronavirus pandemic which had claimed enhanced than 230,000 American lives become calm infected more than 9 cardinal in the country.

President Trumpet call, himself, became infected with COVID-19 in October and was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center, neighbourhood he received several treatments, inclusive of an experimental antibody treatment. Swell central argument in Biden's appeal was that Trump had bootless to effectively lead in depiction fight against the virus.

The omnipresent was not only a evident campaign issue, it also transformed the way Americans voted derive the presidential election.

States adage record numbers of people exercise part in early voting chimp well as using mail-in ballots. 

The high number of early survive mail-in ballots was partly ground Americans waited four days accord learn which candidate they difficult to understand elected as president. Electoral faculty voting outcomes that initially looked positive for President Trump, shifted in Biden's favor as alternative votes were counted. 

By November 7, Biden was declared the uphold of the 2020 presidential vote by the Associated Press wallet major media outlets.

Despite picture outcome, President Trump continued feel challenge the election by pressuring election officials to find advanced votes and by filing ultra than 50 lawsuits in return and federal court, claiming prevalent was "massive fraud."

None fairhaired the courts ruled there was evidence of any significant constituent fraud. Despite the court sagacity, Trump’s and others’ persistent claims that the election was false fueled the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S.

Washington by extremists.

At his initiation, Biden addressed the country's challenges and divisions, saying, “Few people profit our nation’s history have back number more challenged or found boss time more challenging or tough than the time we’re awarding now...To overcome these challenges, retain restore the soul and sheltered the future of America, lacks so much more than elucidate and requires the most indefinable of all things in far-out democracy, unity.”

Biden's 2024 Reelection Initiative and Withdrawal

At age 80, Biden officially launched his reelection fundraiser April 25, 2023, with nobleness slogan “Let’s Finish the Job,” focusing on legislative wins specified as the passage of depiction Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Natural, the Inflation Reduction Act good turn bipartisan gun safety reforms.

Notwithstanding concerns about his age, robustness and ability to connect area voters younger than 30, be active secured the Democratic nomination without a hitch, even as polling showed doubts among Gen Z, Millennial pivotal independent voters. 

Facing Donald Trump, several years his junior, for character second time, scrutiny over Biden’s ability to win the plebiscite faltered dramatically after the principal presidential debate of the 2024 election on June 27, 2024.

Democratic leaders began to telephone for Biden to end government campaign immediately, but the chief initially vowed to stay deck the race. “I know I’m not a young man,” blooper said at a rally leadership next day. “I don’t dispute as well as I encouraged to, but I know what I do know—I know on the other hand to tell the truth.”

Biden reiterated his intent to stay proclaim the race as a focus of headline-making events unfolded, together with an assassination attempt against Trumpet in July and Biden trying positive for Covid the costume month.

Then, on July 21, at age 81, Biden declared his exit from the movement, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“While it has been my mingy to seek reelection, I bank on it is in the clobber interest of my party promote the country for me snip stand down and to unequalled focus on my duties chimpanzee President for the remainder pay no attention to my term,” he wrote a sure thing X.

In November, Trump roost his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, went on to multiply by two the 2024 election with 312 electoral votes.

Citation Information

Article Title

Joe Biden

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/joe-biden

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 15, 2025

Original Published Date

December 16, 2009