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A look back at Joe Biden's legacy as his term comes to an end

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

<p>Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was raised a devout Catholic. He earned a bachelor&#x27;s degree from the University of Delaware and a law degree from Syracuse University.</p><p>Biden&#x27;s political career began on the New Castle County Council in 1970 and served for two years before being elected senator in 1972.</p><p>Just six weeks after being elected to his first term in the U.S. Senate, his wife Neilia Hunter and infant daughter were killed in a car accident that also left his two sons critically injured. Despite nearly resigning, Biden was persuaded to stay by the Senate majority leader and took his oath of office at his son&#x27;s hospital bedside. He served as a single parent for five years before marrying Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1977, with whom he has a daughter.</p><p>On May 30, 2015, Beau Biden, Joe Biden&#x27;s eldest son and former Delaware attorney general, died of cancer at age 46. Beau, who served a year in Iraq as a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard, had previously undergone surgery at a Texas cancer center in 2014 and suffered a mild stroke in 2010. Hunter Biden later writes in his autobiography, titled &quot;Beautiful Things,&quot; that his brother&#x27;s death set off his descent into addiction.</p><p>Joe Biden served as Vice President of the United States for both of Barack Obama&#x27;s terms, from 2009 to 2017. Elected alongside Obama in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.</p><p>U.S. President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign in July 2024 after fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Donald Trump, leaving the presidential race in uncharted territory.</p><p>The president was struggling to put down a slow-boil uprising among some congressional Democrats and some influential donors who fear he lacks the capacity to defeat Trump in light of his halting performance in the June 27 presidential debate.</p><p>Biden, already the oldest U.S. president ever at 81, faced an uphill battle trying to convince his own party as well as voters that he had the stamina for another four years in office, amid poor approval ratings and a special counsel report suggesting he suffered memory lapses. He also struggled to convince critics and the public that he is more fit for office than Trump, who is just three years his junior.</p><p>Biden had cast himself as the country&#x27;s best hope to defend American liberties and protect democracy, saying Trump was unhinged and threatened the future of the country.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/20/on-last-full-day-as-president-biden-urges-americans-to-keep-the-faith-1008">On last full day as president, Biden urges Americans to &#x27;keep the faith&#x27;</a></div><p>One in three Democrats thought Biden should have ended his reelection bid following the debate, but no prominent elected Democrat did any better than Biden in a hypothetical match-up against Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released in July.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/20/a-look-back-at-donald-trump-s-journey-to-the-white-house-1157">A look back at Donald Trump&#x27;s journey to the White House</a></div><p>Biden has faced criticism from many Democrats and younger voters for continuing to give weapons to Israel while largely failing to curb Israel&#x27;s deadly military offensive in Gaza. Biden has provided military aid to Israel after Hamas&#x27; Oct. 7 attack while urging more humanitarian assistance for Palestinians as a May Reuters/Ipsos poll found Democrats remain divided over the issue.</p><p>Biden has presented a new Israeli proposal for a fresh Gaza ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages while talks to end the conflict continue.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/1/20/freed-israeli-hostages-cry-as-they-hug-loved-ones-for-the-first-time-1246">Freed Israeli hostages cry as they hug loved ones for the first time</a></div><div><em>(Production: Ashraf Fahim, Ivan Romero, Eva Weininger)</em></div>

<p>Biden has faced criticism from many Democrats and younger voters for continuing to give weapons to Israel while largely failing to curb Israel's deadly military offensive in Gaza. </p>

Biden has faced criticism from many Democrats and younger voters for continuing to give weapons to Israel while largely failing to curb Israel's deadly military offensive in Gaza.

PROFILE: A look back at Joe Biden's legacy as his term comes to an end

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PROFILE: A look back at Joe Biden's legacy as his term comes to an end

Reuters

Published January 20, 2025 02:25 PM PHT

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