Historical Figure
Joe Biden
b. 1942
President of the United States from 2021 to 2025
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Biography
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009 and also served as the 47th vice president under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017.
In Their Own Words (5)
When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'
Interview with CBS Evening News. CBS Evening News (September 22, 2008) , 2008
I'm not exploring. I'm in. And this is the beginning of a marathon
Referring to his choice not to set up an "exploratory committee" and instead enter the race directly; interview on ABC News after announcing candidacy for the 2008 Democratic president nomination (January 30, 2007) , 2007
He made a compelling case. The predominance of the evidence, the pure weight of the evidence, I think anyone. ... Let me put it this way, if I were back practicing law I can’t imagine I could not convince an open-minded jury of the facts that he presented as having been true.
Biden on Colin Powell's speech to the United Nations. Biden’s Record on Iraq War from FactCheck.org (February 5, 2003) , 2003
No, Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. No, we do not support that.
Joe Biden at the 2008 Vice Presidential debate, when asked if he and Barack Obama support gay marriage. Biden-Palin Vice Presidential debates (October 2, 2008) , 2008
Saddam Hussein's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, in my view, is one of those clear dangers. Even if the right response to his pursuit is not so crystal clear, one thing is clear. These weapons must be dislodged from Saddam Hussein, or Saddam Hussein must be dislodged from power.
US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, , quoted in , 2002
Timeline
The story of Joe Biden, told in moments.
Elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware at age 29. Five weeks later, his wife Neilia and 13-month-old daughter Naomi are killed in a car accident. His two sons, Beau and Hunter, survive with injuries. Biden is sworn in at their hospital bedside. He commutes from Wilmington to Washington by Amtrak every day for 36 years.
His first presidential campaign implodes when he's caught plagiarizing a speech by British Labour leader Neil Kinnock. He drops out. Three months later, he suffers two brain aneurysms. Surgeons give him less than a 50% chance of surviving. He does. He returns to the Senate after seven months.
Inaugurated as Vice President under Barack Obama. He'd run for president again in 2008 and gotten 1% in the Iowa caucuses. Obama picks him for foreign policy experience and Senate relationships. Biden helps negotiate the deficit deal in 2011 and pushes Obama on same-sex marriage in 2012.
Elected 46th president at age 77, the oldest person ever elected to the office. He defeats Donald Trump by over 7 million popular votes and 306-232 in the Electoral College. His son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 at 46. Biden says Beau's death nearly stopped him from running.
Withdraws from the 2024 presidential race after a disastrous debate performance raises concerns about his age and cognition. He endorses Vice President Kamala Harris. He's 81. He'd signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the infrastructure bill, and the CHIPS Act. His approval rating at withdrawal: 36%.
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