Joe Biden: Who He Is and What He Stands For
2020 Candidates
Joe Biden
The former vice president says he can build on the Obama legacy and unite the country in a divisive time.
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45%
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$69.7m
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#1
Who is Joe Biden?
77 years old
Born in Scranton, Pa.; lives in Wilmington, Del.
Six-term senator from Delaware first elected in 1972; 47th vice president of the United States
Also sought the Democratic nomination for president in ’88 and ’08
Biden’s signature issues
Mr. Biden served as vice president in the Obama administration during the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and health care remains a top priority for him. It’s an issue he often discusses in the context of his family’s personal tragedies: He lost his first wife and a baby daughter in a car accident in 1972, and in 2015, his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer. Health care, he said in an early television ad, is “personal” to him.
As a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Biden also speaks passionately about asserting and defending America’s role as a leader on the global stage.
Mr. Biden, who served for decades in the Senate, also firmly believes in the value of bipartisanship and insists on extending overtures to Republicans even in a moment when many in his own party don’t see negotiating partners on the other side.
Three questions about Joe Biden
1. Would Joe Biden be the oldest president in history?
He would be the oldest president in history at his inauguration, at age 78. However, Senator Bernie Sanders, one of Mr. Biden’s chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, is about a year older than Mr. Biden. And President Trump would be the oldest president ever if he wins a second term.
2. Where is Joe Biden from?
Mr. Biden was born in Scranton, Pa., in 1942, and moved to Delaware as a child. As a politician, he has maintained close political ties to both states, though Mr. Trump has accused Mr. Biden of having “deserted” Pennsylvania.
“I was in third grade,” Mr. Biden shot back.
He continues to maintain strong ties to Pennsylvania, a critical general election battleground that Mr. Trump won in 2016, and he has based his campaign headquarters in Philadelphia.
3. What role does the Obama era play in Joe Biden’s campaign?
A big one. President Barack Obama has not endorsed in the presidential race, but he and Mr. Biden forged a close relationship in the administration, and Mr. Biden talks about their friendship frequently, as well as the work they did together on issues ranging from health care to foreign policy.
He often gets some of his biggest applause at campaign events when praising Mr. Obama. And many Democratic voters, especially African-American voters, have cited his relationship with Mr. Obama and nostalgia for that administration in explaining their current support for Mr. Biden.
“If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are, and I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”
Joe Biden
Video profile of Joe Biden
Learn more about Biden
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This Supreme Court battle explains why Mr. Biden firmly believes in bipartisanship.
Here’s why many working-class voters view Mr. Biden as one of their own.
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March 13, 2020