FX.co ★ Say hello to Joe: curious facts about new US president

Early life

The 46th President of the United States was born on November 20, 1942. Interestingly, Biden will become the oldest president in the history of the country. Biden's parents moved from Northern Ireland where they professed Catholicism. It means that this is the second time when a catholic comes to power. The first Catholic president was John F. Kennedy. Notably, the majority of the US population is adherents of the Protestant faith.

Education

Joe Biden received education at the University of Delaware. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 with a double major in history and political science. Just three years later, he gained a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law.

Early political career

Joe Biden decided quite early that he would pursue a political career. At the age of 29, he was elected to the Senate becoming the five youngest senators in American history. At the time, his main rival was 63-year-old James Boggs, who had extensive experience and personal support from President Richard Nixon. However, youth and purposefulness as well as the fresh views of the young politician brought him success and popularity.

Personal tragedy

In 1972, Joe Biden experienced a terrible tragedy in his life. His wife and a one-year-old daughter were killed in a car crash. His two sons were seriously injured. Despite such a blow of fate, he could not give up his political career and took the oath of office as a Senator right in the hospital.

Post of Senator and unsuccessful presidential races

In total, Joe Biden spent 36 years as a Senator. He was head of the Legal Committee as well as the International Affairs Committee. He traveled with delegations around the world a lot, including to Russia. He won the presidential race only for the third time. The first attempt was made in 1988 but it was disastrous and scandalous. He was accused of plagiarizing the speech of the leader of the British labor party, Neil Kinnock, and using other phrases that did not belong to him. In addition, Biden deliberately deluded people with fake information. For instance, he said that his grandfather was a miner, which was not true. Thus, he had to leave the presidential race in disgrace. The second attempt to become President was made in 2008 but even then he voluntarily refused to participate after the first primaries, unable to compete with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Vice Presidency

After the victory of Barack Obama, the latter offered Biden a cabinet position as Vice President. He took the post and made some big shifts in foreign policy. It was Joe Biden who first made a statement that the United States and Russia should revise their relations in order to reach a new level of cooperation. However, years later, after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, he changed his mind and began to strongly criticize the Russian political course.

Bidenism

During the latest political race for the presidency, Joe Biden was also repeatedly caught in lies and inaccuracies in statements. For example, he was a fierce supporter of the American invasion in Iraq. However, now, he denies that he has ever proposed it. The debate with Donald Trump has also given rise to speculation about the truth in his words. So, due to some of his dubious and ambiguous statements, Biden got the nickname “Sleepy Joe”. The biggest mistake that triggered a tsunami of criticism was incorrect data on the number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak. According to his words, it turned out that the infection wiped out two-thirds of the population. For so many misleading facts and inaccuracies, his last name was used as a slang term for lies and tall tales – “Bidenism”.