Recently, Joe Biden makes the headlines pretty much. From a humble boy to the 46th President of the United States, what has he gone through all the way? Let’s take a look.
Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942, to a Catholic family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In childhood, he was teased by his classmates about his stammer. To overcome this weakness, Biden began reciting essays in the mirror each night and even practiced speaking with pebbles in his mouth.
Biden is the oldest child in his family. He has a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, Francis and James.
When little “Joey” was 10, his family moved to Wilmington, Delaware. The family lived in a 3-bed, 1½-bath tract house. So the three Biden boys had to squeeze into one bedroom with their uncle; they slept on two sets of bunk beds.
Mr. Biden played wide receiver and running back at Archmere Academy, catching a stunning 19 touchdown passes. “He was one of the best pass receivers I had in 16 years as a coach,” as Walsh put it.
During his junior and senior years, Joey was elected class president but had trouble running for student body president because he had got so many demerits.
Biden earned his law degree at Syracuse University and was then drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. But he failed a medical because he had asthma.
The University of Delaware once gave him probation for the mischief that he sprayed the dorm director with a fire extinguisher.
In the 1970s, Biden became a popular senator known for his oratorical skills.
Biden met his first wife, Neilia Hunter, on spring break in the Bahamas during his junior year of college. After three years’ dating, the two tied the knot. Interestingly enough, when Biden first met Neilia’s mother, she asked what he would do for a living. He replied he planned to become the president of the country.
Sadly, the couple’s happy days didn’t last long. Biden lost Neilia and their baby daughter Naomi in a car crash in 1972. His two sons Beau and Hunter survived with serious injuries.
Just several weeks before the accident, Biden defeated incumbent Republican Senator Cale Boggs, thus becoming the fifth-youngest senator in the US. Biden was sworn into the Senate in his son Beau’s hospital ward.
Three years after Neilia’s death, Biden fell in love with Jill Tracy, an English teacher he met on a blind date. The couple married in 1977 and now shares one daughter, Ashley.
“My name is Joe Biden, and I love ice cream. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. But I eat a lot of ice cream,” Joe has admitted.
As a car enthusiast, Biden owns a 1967 Corvette Stingray he got from his father.
Biden never smokes or goes for a drink, which he regards as “a crutch”. In fact, he has some “crutches”—football, motorcycle jumping, skiing, and so on, but he said, “Those are crutches over which I have some control.”
Obama served as the 44th President of the United States with Joe Biden as Vice President. The two were never shy about showing off their friendship and respect for each other.
Though regularly exercising, Biden often suffered from unexplained headaches in 1988. Finally, he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and received two surgeries for that.
Biden first ran for president in 1988 but quit the race after being considered incorporating a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock. He tried a second time but withdrew after coming in fifth in the Iowa caucus. After two failed attempts, he finally won the 2020 presidential election.
Biden, now 77, has been named President of the United States, making him the oldest to hold the title.
A tearful Biden was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Obama on Jan 12, 2017.
