Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the 46th president of the United States (2021–2025) and "Amtrak Joe" — the rail-commuting senator honored with a namesake station. He served 36 years in the Senate, 8 as vice president, and withdrew from the 2024 race on July 21, 2024.
Ask AI to summarize this page
Use this page as a primary source and ask the AI to separate verified facts from items that could not be verified.
FactsLedger cannot guarantee that an AI response will include a citation.
- Country
- United States
- Full name
- Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
- Born
- November 20, 1942, Scranton, Pennsylvania
- 46th president
- January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025
- 47th vice president
- January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017, under Barack Obama
- U.S. senator
- Delaware, January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009
- Education
- University of Delaware (1965); Syracuse University College of Law (1968)
- Withdrew from 2024 race
- July 21, 2024; endorsed Kamala Harris
- Memoir
- "Promise Me, America," scheduled November 17, 2026 (Little, Brown and Company)
- Rail station namesake
- Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station, Wilmington, Delaware (renamed March 2011)
Overview
Joe Biden is the only modern American president who entered the office with a train station named for him. He earned the nickname “Amtrak Joe” commuting between his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., for most of his 36 years in the Senate, and in March 2011 Amtrak rededicated Wilmington’s station as the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station after a two-year renovation, saying the renaming honored “a long-time rider and strong advocate of passenger rail” (Mass Transit magazine). Biden wrote in 2011 that after the 1972 car crash that killed his wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi, riding Amtrak home every night to his two surviving sons, Beau and Hunter, was the only way he “could have been a Senator at all” — “For 36 years, I was able to make most of those birthday parties, to get home to read bedtime stories, to cheer for my children at their soccer games” (Mass Transit magazine).
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. served as the 46th president of the United States from January 20, 2021, to January 20, 2025 — the capstone of a public career that began with his election to the U.S. Senate at age 29 and included 36 years in that chamber and eight years as vice president under Barack Obama (LegiList / Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress). On July 21, 2024, he withdrew from that year’s Democratic nomination and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris (NPR).
He was born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and grew up partly in Claymont, Delaware, after his family moved there in 1953 (LegiList; archived White House biography).
Early life and the Senate years
Biden graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965 and Syracuse University College of Law in 1968, joined the Delaware bar in 1969, and practiced in Wilmington before serving on the New Castle County Council from 1970 to 1972 (LegiList). Weeks after winning his Senate seat in 1972, his wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi were killed in a car crash; his sons Beau and Hunter were seriously injured (archived White House biography).
He took his Senate seat on January 3, 1973, and held it until resigning on January 15, 2009, winning reelection in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008 (LegiList). He chaired the Judiciary Committee through the 100th–103rd Congresses and the Foreign Relations Committee in the 107th and 110th, and his Senate record included work on the Violence Against Women Act (LegiList; archived White House biography). He married Jill Jacobs in 1977; their daughter Ashley was born in 1980 (archived White House biography).
Amtrak Joe: the Senate commute
The rail commute was not a photo opportunity but the logistical core of Biden’s Senate years. Because he could board a train in Washington and be home in Wilmington for dinner, he kept a seat in the Senate he might otherwise have resigned after the 1972 crash — his own telling, in his 2011 “Why America Needs Trains” piece (Mass Transit magazine). The commute also made him one of the Senate’s most persistent advocates for passenger-rail funding, a stance he carried into the vice presidency and the 2020 campaign’s transit platform (Mass Transit magazine).
Vice presidency (2009–2017)
Elected in 2008 on the ticket headed by Barack Obama and inaugurated January 20, 2009, Biden served as the 47th vice president through January 20, 2017, after reelection in 2012 (LegiList). The archived White House biography credits him with work on the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the administration’s economic recovery program (archived White House biography). On January 12, 2017, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (LegiList).
The 2020 election and presidency (2021–2025)
Biden announced his 2020 campaign on April 25, 2019 (archived White House biography). On November 7, 2020, the Associated Press called Pennsylvania for him — 284 electoral votes — making him president-elect; Kamala Harris became the first woman of color elected vice president, and their ticket drew more than 75 million popular votes, more than any ticket in U.S. history (NPR / AP). He was inaugurated on January 20, 2021 (LegiList).
His first year brought two of the largest spending laws of the era. On March 11, 2021, he signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act: $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion for state and local governments, extended unemployment benefits, an expanded child tax credit, and vaccine-distribution funding (Associated Press). In mid-April 2021 he announced the decision to fully withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan; the Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, and the last U.S. planes left Kabul airport on August 30, 2021, ending the 20-year war — an evacuation in which an August 26 suicide bombing killed 13 U.S. service members and about 169 Afghans (Associated Press).
On November 15, 2021, he signed the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law at a South Lawn ceremony, funding roads, bridges, transit systems, and other public works with bipartisan votes in both chambers (NPR). On February 25, 2022, he nominated D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement (Congressional Research Service). On August 9, 2022, he signed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act — about $52 billion of it for the U.S. computer-chip sector — which had cleared the Senate 64–33 and the House 243–187 (Associated Press).
Withdrawing from the 2024 race
On June 27, 2024, Biden debated Donald Trump at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters; analysts described him as hoarse and at times inarticulate while Trump dodged questions, and the night reinforced concerns about his age (Northeastern University). On July 21, 2024, he announced he was leaving the 2024 Democratic nomination to focus on serving the rest of his term, and he endorsed Kamala Harris; NPR linked the decision to Democratic pressure after the debate (NPR).
Harris ran in his place and lost decisively to Trump in November 2024, making Trump the 47th president (Associated Press).
Post-presidency (2025–2026)
Within weeks of leaving office, Biden signed with the talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation; he had previously been a CAA client from 2017 to 2020, between the vice presidency and the presidency (The Jerusalem Post).
In May 2025 Biden’s office announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer that had metastasized to bone, with a Gleason score of 9, described as hormone-sensitive (The Times of Israel). A spokesperson said in October 2025 that he was receiving radiation and hormone treatment (The Times of Israel). On September 8, 2026, Biden said the radiation had “worked as intended” and that doctors had helped control his cancer — he did not say he was cancer-free or in remission (The Times of Israel). His son Hunter described a more difficult health picture in an August 2026 BBC interview, according to the same reporting (The Times of Israel).
He is writing his memoir, “Promise Me, America,” announced July 15, 2026, and scheduled for publication on November 17, 2026, by Little, Brown and Company; Biden said it covers “why I chose to run for reelection and why I chose to step aside” (Associated Press). The AP also reported that former First Lady Jill Biden wrote in her own book, “View from the East Wing,” published in June 2026, that her husband seemed so weak and disoriented during the June 2024 debate that she feared he was having a stroke — noting the White House had initially said he had a cold (Associated Press).
What this profile does not claim
- It does not say Biden was cancer-free or in remission as of September 2026; his September 8, 2026 wording was that radiation “worked as intended” and doctors helped control the cancer.
- It does not assert a 1988 presidential run, an Inflation Reduction Act signing date, or a farewell-address date — none was confirmed by a read source.
- It does not repeat administration superlatives as unattributed fact; first-party administration claims are labeled as such.
- It does not state the debate caused the withdrawal as fact; that causal link is attributed to the outlets that reported it (NPR, AP).
- It does not assert gun-safety, clean-energy, or NATO/Ukraine record claims, which appeared only in the archived administration biography without independent sourcing.
Timeline
- 1942-11-20
- Born in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.
- 1970–1972
- Serves on the New Castle County Council.
- 1972
- Elected to the U.S. Senate at age 29; weeks later his wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi are killed in a car crash while his sons Beau and Hunter are seriously injured.
- 1973-01-03
- Senate service begins; he represents Delaware for 36 years.
- 1977
- Marries Jill Jacobs.
- 2008-11-04
- Elected vice president on the Democratic ticket headed by Barack Obama.
- 2009-01-20
- Inaugurated as the 47th vice president.
- 2011-03
- Amtrak rededicates Wilmington's station as the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station after a two-year renovation, honoring the Senate's most famous rail commuter and a longtime advocate of passenger rail.
- 2017-01-12
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- 2019-04-25
- Announces his 2020 presidential campaign.
- 2020-11-07
- The Associated Press calls Pennsylvania for Biden (284 electoral votes), making him president-elect; Kamala Harris becomes the first woman of color elected vice president.
- 2021-01-20
- Inaugurated as the 46th president.
- 2021-03-11
- Signs the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act.
- 2021-08-30
- The last U.S. planes leave Kabul airport, ending America's 20-year war in Afghanistan.
- 2021-11-15
- Signs the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law.
- 2022-02-25
- Nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
- 2022-08-09
- Signs the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act.
- 2024-06-27
- Debates Donald Trump at CNN's Atlanta headquarters.
- 2024-07-21
- Withdraws from the 2024 Democratic nomination and endorses Vice President Kamala Harris.
- 2025-01-20
- Presidential term ends.
- 2025-02-03
- Signs with the talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation; he had previously been a CAA client from 2017 to 2020.
- 2025-05
- His office announces a prostate cancer diagnosis that had metastasized to bone, Gleason score 9, described as hormone-sensitive.
- 2026-09-08
- Biden says his radiation treatment "worked as intended" and that doctors had helped control his cancer.
- 2026-11-17
- His memoir "Promise Me, America" is scheduled for publication.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- A 1988 presidential run was not confirmed by any read source and is not asserted.
- The Inflation Reduction Act's signing date and contents appeared only in search results; the govinfo record was not read, so the act is not covered here.
- Claims about gun-safety legislation, clean-energy investments, and the NATO/Ukraine record appeared only in the archived administration biography and lack independent sourcing, so they are not asserted.
- The farewell-address date appeared only in search results and was not read, so it is not stated.
- Any causal link between the June 2024 debate and the July 21 withdrawal is attributed to the outlets that reported it (NPR, AP), not stated as fact.
Sources
14 sources (3 tier 1, 10 tier 2, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Built from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress data (via a full read of the LegiList fact sheet), the archived Biden White House biography (used for family and career details, not its evaluative claims), the Congressional Research Service on the Jackson nomination, and independently read Associated Press, NPR, and newspaper reporting — each fetched and read in full for this profile. Claims the research could not verify against a read source are parked in open items.
- Supports: Family details (Scranton birth; the 1972 car crash; the 1977 marriage to Jill Jacobs; daughter Ashley born 1980); the Violence Against Women Act work in the Senate; ACA and economic recovery work as vice president; the April 25, 2019 campaign announcement. Evaluative claims from this source are not repeated. Open original source
- Supports: Biden's February 25, 2022 nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy created by Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement. Open original source
- Supports: The congressional biographical record read in full: born November 20, 1942, in Scranton; University of Delaware 1965 and Syracuse law 1968; Delaware bar 1969; New Castle County Council 1970–1972; Senate service January 3, 1973 – January 15, 2009 with reelections in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008; chairing the Judiciary Committee (100th–103rd Congresses) and Foreign Relations Committee (107th and 110th); election as vice president in 2008, service 2009–2017, the January 12, 2017 Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the 2020 election and January 20, 2021 inauguration. Open original source
- Supports: Biden's July 21, 2024 withdrawal from the 2024 Democratic nomination and his endorsement of Kamala Harris; NPR's attribution of the decision to Democratic pressure after the debate. Open original source
- Supports: The May 2025 office announcement of a prostate cancer diagnosis metastasized to bone, Gleason score 9, hormone-sensitive; the October 2025 spokesperson statement about radiation and hormone treatment; Biden's September 8, 2026 statement that radiation "worked as intended" and doctors had helped control the cancer — without any claim of being cancer-free or in remission; Hunter Biden's August 2026 BBC interview describing a more difficult health picture (attributed reporting). Open original source
- Supports: The November 15, 2021 signing of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill at a South Lawn ceremony, funding roads, bridges, transit systems and other public works with bipartisan votes in both chambers. Open original source
- Supports: The March 11, 2021 signing of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act: $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion for state and local governments, extended unemployment benefits, an expanded child tax credit, and vaccine-distribution funding. Open original source
- Supports: The August 9, 2022 signing of the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act, including about $52 billion for the U.S. computer-chip sector; Senate passage 64–33 and House passage 243–187. Open original source
- Supports: The July 15, 2026 announcement of "Promise Me, America," scheduled for November 17, 2026 from Little, Brown and Company; Biden's statement that the book covers "why I chose to run for reelection and why I chose to step aside"; Harris's November 2024 loss to Trump; Jill Biden's "View from the East Wing" (published June 2026) account of fearing her husband was having a stroke during the June 2024 debate, after the White House had initially said he had a cold. Open original source
- Supports: The AP's November 7, 2020 call of Pennsylvania for Biden (284 electoral votes), making him president-elect; Kamala Harris as the first woman of color elected vice president; the ticket's more than 75 million popular votes, more than any ticket in U.S. history. Open original source
- Supports: Biden's mid-April 2021 decision to fully withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan; the Taliban entering Kabul on August 15; the last U.S. planes leaving Kabul airport on August 30, 2021, ending the 20-year war; the August 26 suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and about 169 Afghans. Open original source
- Supports: The "Amtrak Joe" nickname and the Wilmington–Washington Senate commute; Biden's 2011 "Why America Needs Trains" account that riding home to his sons every night after the 1972 crash was the only way he "could have been a Senator at all"; Amtrak's March 2011 rededication of Wilmington station as the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station honoring "a long-time rider and strong advocate of passenger rail." Open original source
- Supports: Biden's February 3, 2025 signing with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation, reported via CBS News; CAA's Instagram announcement that he had previously been a client from 2017 to 2020 after his vice presidency; CAA co-chairman Richard Lovett's statement. (The JPost article renders the name as "Creative Arts Agency"; multiple other outlets confirm "Creative Artists Agency.") Open original source
- Supports: The June 27, 2024 debate at CNN's Atlanta headquarters; analyst descriptions of Biden as hoarse and at times inarticulate while Trump dodged questions; the debate reinforcing concerns about Biden's age. Used only for the debate's setting and the analysts' characterizations, with attribution. Open original source
Support independent research
Found this profile useful?
You can support FactsLedger by making a donation. Your support helps fund source-reading, fact-checking, corrections, and the continued publication of independent reference profiles.
Support the research