Joe Biden turns 80. Born on November 20, 1942 in Scranton, a working-class town in Pennsylvania, the president of the United States is a veteran of politics and the oldest in the history of the United States. Known for his gaffes and referred to by Donald Trump as “Sleepy Joe”, Biden has recently redeemed himself by collecting a string of hits. From the mid-term elections, in which the Democrats avoided the feared coup, to the prudent line they were able to impose after the missile that hit Poland, to the first face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping on the occasion of the G20 in Bali, Indonesia, which marked a thaw with Beijing and rapprochement with non-Western countries over the war in Ukraine.
Joe Biden looks back over 30 years as a senator and two terms as an Obama congressman (2009-2017), 2020 was the third White House race for him, the fourth could be in 2024. Democratic primaries in 1988, but had to withdraw after accusations of plagiarism: one of his speeches closely resembled that of a British Labor. The second time, in 2008, he was defeated by Obama, who then wanted him as vice precisely because he needed a veteran. In 2016, he did not run for Hillary Clinton’s nomination because he was still badly shaken by the death the previous year of his son Beau, Delaware’s attorney general, from brain cancer.
That’s not the only tragedy Biden has faced. Aged just 29, in 1972 he lost his first wife Nilia and daughter Naomi in a car accident, in which his other two sons, Beau and Hunter, survived with injuries. His second marriage, to First Lady Jill, took place five years later, and together they had a daughter, Ashley. Biden grew up in a middle-class Catholic family of Irish descent, with his father a car salesman. The family then moved to Delaware, where he attended college in history and political science before becoming a lawyer. It is precisely in Delaware that Biden, aged just 29, became a senator for the first time. He was re-elected six times over 36 years and became known for his gaffes, such as when he asked a senator in a wheelchair to stand up.
His government has sealed a series of legislative victories in recent months, on climate, infrastructure, health expansion, military aid to Ukraine, even as it has to deal with high inflation and the Supreme Court ruling on ‘abortion’. “My intention is to run again” for president, he declared, but in the Democratic Party there are questions about whether to focus on younger energies, especially after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 82, decided to retire from office. Leadership. According to an AP VoteCast poll, 58% of voters lack the mental capacity to effectively serve as president. Biden is said to start most days with an 8 am workout accompanied by his personal trainer and physical therapist. For her birthday, she planned to celebrate with a family Sunday brunch at the White House, following her niece Naomi’s wedding to fiance Peter Neal on Saturday. It is the 19th wedding in the more than 200-year history of the White House, the first with a president’s niece as bride.
Source: IL Tempo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
