Tragic Details About President Joe Biden

After struggling during a debate with former President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, calls came in for President Joe Biden to back away from his 2024 presidential campaign. On July 21, 2024, President Biden succumbed to the pressure and announced he would not seek re-election. With less than a month to go until the Democratic National Convention, the 46th President of the United States endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, as the heir apparent for the top seat in U.S. politics.

Over the weeks following the June debate, there have been calls for Biden to drop out of the race from both sides of the aisle, as well as from heavy hitters in the world of entertainment, like George Clooney. Unfortunately, this incident is only the latest insult in a string of injuries that have befallen the president throughout his personal life and political career. From a speech impediment that showed itself during his childhood to suffering tragic personal loss, he has experienced more than his fair share of catastrophic events, and in the spotlight of the world stage, no less. Truly, even the best ancient Greek playwright couldn't conjure up a story as tragic as Biden's has turned out to be.

Darth Vader actor James Earl Jones, country singer Mel Tillis, U.S. President Joe Biden, they are three famous people who overcame a stuttering problem to find phenomenal success. In the latter's case, speech therapy in kindergarten did little to ease his severe speech impediment. Like many people who have dealt with stuttering, Biden received his share of bullying, including from a Catholic nun, who made fun of him during a speech in class. His verbal challenges even earned his the nickname "Dash," a nod to how much Biden's speech mimicked the cadence of the dot-dash pattern of Morse code, (per Biden's biography, "Promises to Keep"). 

In order to conquer his challenges with verbal expression, Joe Biden came up with his own solutions. He spent hours in front of a mirror, with a flashlight pointed at his face, speaking out the words of great poets, like William Butler Yeats. He did this until he could speak "flawlessly" in front of a crowd (per The Miller Center). 

Eventually, his tenacity paid off, earning Biden a win as high school class president, a position that pointed toward his later political victories. In 2008, NPR recognized him as a "gifted, albeit long-winded orator," instead of a young man "with a bad stutter."

On December 19th, 1972, newly-minted U.S. Senator, Joe Biden, had a phone call with then-U.S. President, Richard Nixon. A day prior, the tragic news about the deaths of Biden's first wife, Neilia, and his baby daughter, Naomi, had reached President Nixon. The former president extended his condolences to soon-to-be Senator Biden. It's unknown where Biden took the call with Nixon, though some assume he may have been in the hospital room of his sons, Beau and Hunter. They were also in the car at the time of the crash that took their mother and sister. 

The young senator had been married to Neilia for six years at the time of the car accident. She met Joe Biden during spring break of 1964 while she was still a student at Syracuse University. Eventually, Neilia went door-to-door around Delaware, promoting her husband's senate campaign. She didn't live to see him be sworn into the office she worked so hard to help him win. On December 18th, 1972, tractor trailer crashed into her car, with her and her three children inside. 

Biden considered backing away from the post he had just been elected to. However, support from his Senate friends on both sides of the aisle, as well as from President Nixon, encouraged him to move forward. He took his oath of office in the Wilmington Medical Center's chapel, in the presence of family, including his sons.

In 1988, at the age of 46, Joe Biden had so many headaches, he nearly kept the Tylenol company in business. On the outside looking in, it might have seemed like the then Senator and presidential hopeful was experiencing stress-related pains.

However, the problem turned out to be far more severe. In February of 1988, two brain aneurysms caused him to pass out in a hotel room in Rochester, New York. Later, according to his book "Promises to Keep," he would describe having feelings of an "electrical surge" and then unimaginable pain in his head before being knocked out for hours. A spinal tap revealed the likely cause –- a ballooning of the artery below the base of his brain. His odds of surviving the subsequent surgery necessary to correct the issue were only 50% (per Delaware Online). A priest was even called to administer possible last rites. Ultimately, recovery required him to undergo several surgeries, and for a time, he experienced post-surgery symptoms, like a drooping eye and forehead on the right side of his face.

Joe Biden was forced to revisit his health issues when he became Barack Obama's choice as a running mate for the 2008 presidential election. By then, Biden was 65 years old. Despite being such a life-threatening issue at one time, Dr. Matthew Parker, a doctor speaking for the Obama-Biden campaign, confirmed that the health issue was a thing of the past (per CNN).

In 2017, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Joe Biden on her show "SuperSoul Sunday," and asked the big question. Did he think he could have beaten Hillary Clinton in 2016? Although he answered in the affirmative, there was a bigger issue at stake for him during the leadup to the 2016 presidential election. As he pointed out to Winfrey, "It was real simple. My son was dying." So, Joe Biden bowed out of the opportunity to spend time with his son. 

Beau Biden died of brain cancer on May 30th, 2015. He was President Biden's oldest son, a National Guardsman, and the two-time Attorney General of Delaware. His condition was discovered in 2013. The younger Biden underwent surgery to deal with a lesion on his brain, and post-op treatment included chemotherapy. Tragically, he passed away in the presence of his wife, Hallie, his two children, Natalie and Hunter, his father, then Vice President, Joe Biden, and other loved ones. In 2016, the former vice president accepted the first ever Beau Biden Award in honor of his son, as well as for his work on the Cancer Moonshot initiative during the Obama Administration.

In spite of his health challenges, Beau Biden had planned to participate in the 2016 race for governor of Delaware.

Poised by the circumstances of his life to be a golden child, Hunter Biden has, instead, dealt with a string of his own tragedies that have ultimately caused some to doubt the integrity of his father, U.S. President Joe Biden. Over the years, Hunter has faced challenges with drug and alcohol addiction, tax evasion, and a host of other issues that ended his marriage to his wife of 24 years, Kathleen Buhle. Such is the life of someone who lives in the shadow of a public figure as prominent as Joe Biden.

Hunter Biden is currently looking at possible prison time for charges of weapons possession. He was convicted on three related felony charges by a jury after only three hours of deliberation, according to the Associated Press. Biden has shown support for his son, though the President has been careful to avoid appearances of interfering with the judicial process. In an ironic twist of fate, Hunter Biden has moved to have his case dismissed, saying that it's a violation of the Appointments Clause, an argument that Biden political opponent, Donald Trump, used in his own defense (per NBC News). 

Finally, NBC News reports that Hunter Biden came out in support for his father after it was announced that he would drop out of the 2024 race, and expressed gratitude for his father's service as President and as a parent.