Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
(This story is being reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark the swearing-in ceremony that’ll see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take oath as the next president and vice president of USA. It was originally published on 8 November 2020)
After a nerve-wracking election that saw months of drama, with Trump refusing to concede until the US Capitol riots, Biden will take oath as the 46th President of the United States on 20 January 2021.
Here's a peek into the life of the man who defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 US elections and secured most votes as a presidential candidate, breaking Barack Obama's record.
From an attorney to a politician and from Wilmington to the White House, Bidens’ decades-long political journey is an intriguing one.
Previous Bids for Presidency
If you think this is Joe Biden's first run for US Presidency, you’re wrong. He missed the shot twice.
In 1987, the senator was accused of plagiarising a speech by Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party. This compelled him to withdraw from the pursuit of nominations in 1988.
20 years later, in 2007, he withdrew again, after getting less than one percent votes in the Iowa Democratic Caucus.
A Leader Despite Personal Tragedies
Born in 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania to a family of modest means. His father Joseph Robinette Biden Jr held a degree in law from the Syracuse University, New York.
Joe recollects his father's teaching:
“No one is better than you. Everyone is equal to you and you are equal to everyone.”
In 1972, at 29, Biden became the 5th youngest US Senator but his achievement was overshadowed by an accident which killed his wife and daughter, just a month later. The accident left both his sons injured.
Joe, was as a much a father as a Senator. For five years, he raised his two sons as a single parent, choosing to travel miles everyday, commuting daily between Wilmington and Washington, DC via Amtrak trains only to take care of his sons.
This gradually earned him the name of 'Amtrak Joe'.
The tragedies and a difficult personal life didn't deter him from his political career. Biden went on to be re-elected six times, becoming Delaware’s longest-serving senator.
Folks, America, is an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant... It instills the belief in every person in this country that no matter where you start in life, there is nothing you can’t achieve if you work at it.Joe Biden, US Senator
Years later, another tragedy struck him when he lost his eldest son, Beau to brain cancer in 2015.
The Obama-Biden Camaraderie
The two consecutive terms at the White House have been more than just work.
The Obama-Biden bromance has often created buzz.
In 2017, Obama bestowed upon ‘his brother’ Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Tryst with Controversies
While the echoes of Biden’s 1987 plagiarism scandal continue to reverberate. The same year, he also acknowledged that he plagiarised a law review article during his first year in law school.
In 2007, Biden claimed that he was 'shot at' in Iraq’s Green zone but later clarified that he was 'near where a shot landed'.
Even in 2020, it is being alleged that Biden’s 'Build Back Better' slogan was coined by Bill Clinton in 2006.
The 2020 US Presidency
In 2020, Biden is considered to be keeping a moderate approach. He wants to give the middle class a fair shot.
Some of the ideas and plans he is fighting for include:
- Tripling the child tax credits from $2,000 to $6,000
- Four years of free college
- A minimum wage of $15 for all
- A climate action plan
- To build up on Obamacare
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