The politician, who called himself an "automaton of blunders", has experienced many tragedies. Joe Biden will become the oldest president in the history of the United States, but his advanced age did not prevent him from beating Donald Trump in the election. Despite the fact that many laugh at his reservations and confusion in words, most Americans have entrusted him with the management of their vast country.
Biden's path to the political Olympus was steep and fast, and his personal life shakes with the depth of grief that their family had to go through. Find out how the puzzles of the fate of an extraordinary American politician were formed from our material.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenThe counting of votes is not over yet, but most likely it will be Joe Biden who will become the 46th president of the United States, taking office at the age of 78. For many, the calmness of the elderly candidate is the main one in the choice between him and the explosive Trump.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe Biden
Biden has been building a career in politics for 40 years. He was twice vice president under Barack Obama, but his personal life is full of tragedies and grief.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenOn December 18, 1972, just a few weeks after the 29-year-old Biden was first elected senator of Delaware, his world collapsed. He was in Washington, making a deal to buy a new home for his family, when the alarm bell rang. The politician was informed that his wife Neilia, who went to buy a Christmas tree with her three young children, was involved in a terrible accident. Their car was hit by a truck.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenA young mother and a newborn daughter, Naomi, were killed, and two sons, Bo and Hunter, survived, but were seriously injured. Biden would later write in his memoirs that he couldn't say a word when he heard the terrible news. It seemed to him that he was being sucked into a black hole. Then he even wanted to leave the senate and become a priest, and in the evenings he wandered through dangerous neighborhoods to get into some kind of trouble. The senator was angry at the whole world and at God.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenHis parents moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1953, where Biden's father, Joe Sr., found a job as a boiler cleaner. The young Biden was a stutterer, which is why he was often mocked by classmates. Even the teacher-nun joked about the boy. Joe Jr. even wanted to leave school, but after his mother came to the teacher and threatened to tear off her cap from her head if her son was offended further, everything got better. In the end, Biden managed to overcome his stutter by reading Irish poetry in front of a mirror.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenIn 1965, Joe graduated from the university in Newark, and before that, in 1964, he met his future wife, a student Neilia Hunter, in the Bahamas. Two years later, the lovers got married, and they had three children: Joseph Bo in 1969, Robert Hunter in 1970 and Naomi Kristina in 1971. Then the future senator studied law at Syracuse University and did not participate in the then countercultural anti-war demonstrations.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenThe first step on the way to the political Olympus was the victory in the elections of the head of the district council. In 1972, the 29-year-old Joe Biden won the election and became a senator of Delaware. Then there was a terrible accident that claimed the lives of his wife and younger daughter.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenFor the first time, Biden swung at the place of the US president in 1987. Then his application was rejected due to accusations of copying an excerpt from a speech by the leader of the Labour Party, Neil Kinnock. In addition, he made several false or exaggerated statements about his youth.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenIn 1988, Joe Biden lost consciousness in a hotel when a blood vessel burst in his brain. After the complications, the doctors were worried that the influential politician might have irreversible brain damage. Fortunately, everything went well, and he managed to recover from his illness.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenJoe Biden participated in the US presidential election for the second time in 2008. Then he called his friend, the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, "the first African-American-an eloquent, smart, clean and good-looking guy." This blunder dealt a crushing blow to his election campaign. Nevertheless, the politician spent two terms as vice president during the Obama presidency.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenIt seemed that in 2016, Biden would bypass Hillary Clinton and become a candidate for the presidency instead of her, but another tragedy knocked him down. In May 2015, his 46-year — old son Beau Biden (pictured on the far right) died of brain cancer. The politician was no longer up to the elections. He needed time and strength to cope with grief and heartache.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenThen a photo of his son Hunter appeared on the pages of the New York Post newspaper with a pipe full of crack. The publication stated that Biden's son used his father's high position when he was vice president of the United States to make a profit from a Ukrainian energy company. Joe Biden rejected all the corruption charges and called them slander. However, he admitted that his son Hunter suffered from drug addiction, but overcame it.
The path from a shy stutterer to the post of US president: the extraordinary life story of Joe BidenThe candidate for the post of president could not resist another blunder even at the end of the election campaign. This time, he introduced his granddaughter Finnegan to the crowd of fans, calling her "my son Bo". The politician wanted to say that the girl is the daughter of his son Bo, but again he confused everything, because Finnegan is Hunter's daughter, not Bo. Fortunately, Biden quickly realized that he had said something wrong and took Natalie's hand — Beau's real daughter.
Now Joe Biden will have to learn how to take photos, as all American presidents have done. An Imgur user under the nickname TheGhostofElizabethShue wrote a whole list of photography rules that any self-respecting politician should take note of.