Robert Jackman

Who’s who in the Biden clan

  • From Spectator Life
Image: Getty

The electoral college has confirmed it: the US will have its 46th president on 21 January next year – Joseph R Biden Jnr.

While Scranton Joe might not have much in common with his predecessor in many departments, there are (some) similarities when it comes to their personal lives.

As grandfathers in their 70s, both men preside over large broods, who have helped build the family political brand – and who have generated their fair share of media intrigue along the way.

Here’s the guide to who’s who in the Biden clan:

(Dr) Jill Biden

Dr Jill Biden (Image: Getty)

An English professor with nearly two million followers on Instagram, Jill Biden is no stranger to the White House. During the Obama years, she famously balanced her public duties as Second Lady with lecturing at Northern Virginia Community College (where her security detail disguised themselves as students).

Jill Jacobs first met her future husband in 1975 when she was studying at the University of Delaware, following an introduction from his brother. Joe Biden, then a 33 year old senator, had tragically lost his wife, Neilia, and infant daughter three years beforehand in a car accident.

Having previously shied away from the spotlight, Dr Biden emerged as quite the asset in this year’s campaign. Highlights included shielding her husband from vegan protestors during his Super Tuesday speech and deftly batting off questions about his alleged touchiness.

Hunter Biden

Image: Getty

Naomi Biden attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated, in 2016, in the same class as Tiffany Trump

While the Democratic party machinery did all it could to promote Jill Biden, there was one name they tried to keep out of the spotlight – Hunter Biden.

The second son from Joe Biden’s marriage to Neilia, Hunter Biden is a career lobbyist whose rocky relationship with drugs is well known.

But for all that (including the time he was dismissed from the naval reserves for cocaine usage), it was ultimately Hunter’s professional activities that sparked one of the biggest political controversies of the century.


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