Joe Biden

Born in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], Biden graduated from the [[University of Delaware]] in 1965 and the [[Syracuse University College of Law]] in 1968. He was elected to the [[New Castle County Council]] in 1970 and the [[1972 United States Senate election in Delaware|U.S. Senate in 1972]]. [[US Senate career of Joe Biden|As a senator]], Biden chaired the Senate [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Judiciary Committee]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations Committee]]. He drafted and led passage of the [[Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act]] and the [[Violence Against Women Act]]. Biden also oversaw six [[U.S. Supreme Court]] confirmation hearings, including contentious [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|hearings for Robert Bork]] and [[Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination|Clarence Thomas]]. He opposed the [[Gulf War]] in 1991 but voted in favor of the [[Iraq War Resolution]] in 2002. Biden ran unsuccessfully for the [[1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1988]] and [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2008 Democratic presidential nominations]]. In 2008, [[Barack Obama]] chose Biden as his running mate, and he was a close counselor to Obama [[vice presidency of Joe Biden|as vice president]]. In the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], Biden selected [[Kamala Harris]] as his running mate, and they defeated [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbents [[Donald Trump]] and [[Mike Pence]]. He became the first president to serve with a female or African American vice president.

Born in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], Biden graduated from the [[University of Delaware]] in 1965 and the [[Syracuse University College of Law]] in 1968. He was elected to the [[New Castle County Council]] in 1970 and the [[1972 United States Senate election in Delaware|U.S. Senate in 1972]]. [[US Senate career of Joe Biden|As a senator]], Biden chaired the Senate [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Judiciary Committee]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations Committee]]. He drafted and led passage of the [[Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act]] and the [[Violence Against Women Act]]. Biden also oversaw six [[U.S. Supreme Court]] confirmation hearings, including contentious [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|hearings for Robert Bork]] and [[Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination|Clarence Thomas]]. He opposed the [[Gulf War]] in 1991 but voted in favor of the [[Iraq War Resolution]] in 2002. Biden ran unsuccessfully for the [[1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1988]] and [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2008 Democratic presidential nominations]]. In 2008, [[Barack Obama]] chose Biden as his running mate, and he was a close counselor to Obama [[vice presidency of Joe Biden|as vice president]]. In the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], Biden selected [[Kamala Harris]] as his running mate, and they defeated [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbents [[Donald Trump]] and [[Mike Pence]]. He became the first president to serve with a female or African American vice president.

As president, Biden signed the [[American Rescue Plan Act]] in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]] and [[COVID-19 recession|subsequent recession]]. He signed bipartisan bills on [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act|infrastructure]] and [[CHIPS and Science Act|manufacturing]]. Biden proposed the [[Build Back Better Act]], which failed in Congress, but aspects of which were incorporated into the [[Inflation Reduction Act]] that he signed into law in 2022. He [[Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination|appointed]] [[Ketanji Brown Jackson]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. In [[Foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration|his foreign policy]], the U.S. reentered the [[Paris Agreement]]. Biden oversaw the [[2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan|complete withdrawal of U.S. troops]] that ended the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|war in Afghanistan]], leading to [[2021 Taliban offensive|the Taliban seizing control]]. He [[United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine|responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine]] by imposing [[International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|sanctions on Russia]] and authorizing [[United States military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War|aid to Ukraine]]. During the [[Gaza war]], Biden condemned the actions of [[Hamas]] as terrorism, strongly supported [[United States support for Israel in the Gaza war|Israel's military efforts]] and sent limited humanitarian aid to the [[Gaza Strip]]. A temporary [[2025 Israel–Hamas war ceasefire|ceasefire proposal]] he backed was adopted shortly before his presidency ended.

As president, Biden signed the [[American Rescue Plan Act]] in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]] and [[COVID-19 recession|subsequent recession]]. He signed bipartisan bills on [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act|infrastructure]] and [[CHIPS and Science Act|manufacturing]]. Biden proposed the [[Build Back Better Act]], which failed in Congress, but aspects of which were incorporated into the [[Inflation Reduction Act]] that he signed into law in 2022. He [[Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination|appointed]] [[Ketanji Brown Jackson]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. In [[Foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration|his foreign policy]], the U.S. reentered the [[Paris Agreement]]. Biden oversaw the [[2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan|complete withdrawal of U.S. troops]] that ended the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|war in Afghanistan]], leading to [[2021 Taliban offensive|the Taliban seizing control]]. He [[United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine|responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine]] by imposing [[International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|sanctions on Russia]] and authorizing [[United States military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War|aid to Ukraine]]. During the [[Gaza war]], Biden condemned the actions of [[Hamas]] as terrorism, strongly supported [[United States support for Israel in the Gaza war|Israel's military efforts]], and sent limited humanitarian aid to the [[Gaza Strip]]. A temporary [[2025 Israel–Hamas war ceasefire|ceasefire proposal]] he backed was adopted shortly before his presidency ended.

[[Age and health concerns about Joe Biden|Concerns about Biden's age and health]] persisted throughout his term. He became the first president to turn 80 years old while in office. He began his presidency with majority support, but saw his approval ratings decline significantly throughout his presidency, in part due to public frustration over [[2021-2023 inflation surge|inflation]], which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 but dropped to 2.9% by the end of his presidency. Biden initially [[Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign|ran for reelection]] and, after the [[2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic primaries]], became the party's presumptive nominee in the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]]. After his performance in the [[2024 Joe Biden–Donald Trump presidential debate|first presidential debate]], renewed scrutiny from across the political spectrum about his cognitive ability led him to [[Withdrawal of Joe Biden from the 2024 United States presidential election|withdraw his candidacy]].<!--Seek talk page consensus before changing this clause--> In 2022 and 2024, Biden's administration was [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States#Scholar survey summary|ranked favorably]] by historians and scholars, diverging from [[United States presidential approval rating|unfavorable public assessments]] of his tenure. As of 2025, he is the [[List of presidents of the United States by age#Age of presidents|oldest former U.S. president still living]].

[[Age and health concerns about Joe Biden|Concerns about Biden's age and health]] persisted throughout his term. He became the first president to turn 80 years old while in office. He began his presidency with majority support, but saw his approval ratings decline significantly throughout his presidency, in part due to public frustration over [[2021-2023 inflation surge|inflation]], which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 but dropped to 2.9% by the end of his presidency. Biden initially [[Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign|ran for reelection]] and, after the [[2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic primaries]], became the party's presumptive nominee in the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]]. However, after his poor performance in the [[2024 Joe Biden–Donald Trump presidential debate|first presidential debate]], renewed scrutiny from across the political spectrum about his cognitive ability led him to [[Withdrawal of Joe Biden from the 2024 United States presidential election|withdraw his candidacy]].<!--Seek talk page consensus before changing this clause--> In 2022 and 2024, Biden's administration was [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States#Scholar survey summary|ranked favorably]] by historians and scholars, diverging from [[United States presidential approval rating|unfavorable public assessments]] of his tenure. As of 2025, he is the [[List of presidents of the United States by age#Age of presidents|oldest former U.S. president still living]].

== Early life (1942–1965) ==

== Early life (1942–1965) ==