SIDE-BY-SIDE
BIDEN
Personal History
• Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to family that struggled ecomonmically until father employed as real estate salesman
• B.A, Univerity of Delaware, J.D. Syracuse University
• Four children with two wives. (First wife, Neilia, and daughter, Naomi, were killed and two sons injured in a car accident just days Biden was to be sworn in as U.S. Senator. Remarried to Jill Biden, with whom he has a daughter. Son Beau Biden, Attorney General of Delaware, dies of cancer - causing Joe Biden to commit to finding a cure for cancer during his lifetime.)
• Consistently ranked among least wealthiest members of U.S. Senate. (His 2017 memoir, Promise Me Dad, related to death of his son, Beau, earned Biden $9+ million.)
Private Sector History
• No private sector experience. (After leaving vice presidency, wrote book, founded Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at University of Pennsylvania, and lectured.)
Public Sector History
• Served briefly on Castle County Council
• Elected to U.S. Senate at age 29 (sworn into Senate at sons' hospital beds; commuted daily to be with sons)
• Runs for president in 1998, removing himself after:
Humphrey and Kennedy
which he appealed to Delaware Supreme Court Board
of Professional Conduct which acquitted him of
charges
• Returns to serve in U.S. Senate (total 26 years):
Committee for 16 years, where known for
spearheading Violence Against Women Act
Committee for 12 years, where known for shaping
U.S. Foreign policy
• Voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages (an act ruled unconstitutional in 2015)
• Helped pass the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act, which again upset liberals as they argued the bills would result in mass incarceration. (Later in his career, Biden would reverse position – specifically calling out passage of the latter act - with clauses related to crack cocaine - as a “mistake.”)
• Led the charge against Robert Bork in 1988, reversing an earlier endorsement.
• Failed to share information with committee about Anita Hill’s charge that Clarence Thomas made unwelcome sexual comments (Hill at first was unwilling to testify), and also he did not permit testimony from other witnesses who made similar charges. (He apologized to Hill, but she did not accept his apology).
• Voted to support authorization of the Gulf War in 1991, though he now claims to have opposed it (‘It was right to go after Bin Laden, but I did not believe there were nuclear weapons.’)13
• Called on President Clinton to use all necessary force to confront Milošević. Biden also strongly supported the war in Afghanistan, saying, “Whatever it takes, we should do it.” (And yet, again, he later changed course. By 2006, Biden opposed the surge.)14
• Selected to be President Obama's Vice President. (As Vice President noted for moving forward passage of the $350 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.)
• Chose not to run for president in 2016, given emotional toll of Beau's death from cancer (saying, "Nobody has a right ... to seek that office unless they're willing to give it 110% of who they are.”15Opens door for Hillary Clinton, who was defeated by Donald Trump.
• Puts himself forward as presidential candidate in 2020.
occasions, such as embracing, touching, or kissing.
Biden acknowledges being a"tactile politician" and
says he will be "more respectful of people's personal
space."
eight women, that Biden sexually assaulted her, was
dismissed after inconsistencies were revealed.
• Selects Kamala Harris as his vice president, the African American and first South Asian American nominee of either political party.
• Becomes president after winning the 2020 presidential election.
• Within first several days, reinstates many of the initiatives supported by the Obama-Biden Administration.
• Signed the American Rescue Plan, which provided a $1.9 trilion stimulus and relief package during COVID-19 pandemic.
• Appointedthe first African American, Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court. Most federal judiary appointments during first year since Reagan.
• Rallied NATO support for Ukraine to stop Russian aggression, including admittinfg Finland and Sweden.
• Created mllions of jobs & reduced inflation.16
• Supported Israel's right to defend itself, but withheld arms from Israel after concluding U.S. arms were being used on civilians.
Present Legal History
• No present or pending legal action.
What to Expect if Elected to Second Term
• Continuation of existing position with regard to the economy, environment, human rights, and foreign policy.