VOA · America's Presidents
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed7:462024-01-12public domain
America's Presidents profiles each U.S. president in order — their lives, decisions, and legacies. Consistent structure across episodes means your ear gets steadily faster at the recurring political and historical vocabulary.
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01VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.
02Today, we are talking about Joe Biden.
03He took office in 2021, becoming America's 46th president.
04A member of the Democratic Party, Biden had been in national politics for a long time before he got to the White House.
05He served 36 years in the United States Senate, representing Delaware.
06After that, he held two terms as the nation's vice president, serving under President Barack Obama.
07Because Biden's presidency is so recent, this report will not discuss his time in office.
08Instead, it will discuss his earlier life.
09Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
10was born in 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
11His family moved to Delaware when he was 10 years old.
12The Bidens were Roman Catholics of Irish ancestry.
13Joe was educated in private Roman Catholic schools as a youth.
14Later, he attended the University of Delaware.
15He received a degree in political science and history in 1965.
16He also fell in love at Delaware with fellow student, Nelia Hunter.
17The two married the following year.
18Over the next few years, the couple had three children.
19Joe Biden also received his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in New York.
20In 1972, at age 29, Joe Biden was elected to the U.S.
21Senate, representing Delaware.
22A few weeks later, Biden faced tragedy.
23Nelia and their children were in a car accident.
24She and daughter Naomi were killed in the crash.
25Sons Beau and Hunter were injured.
26Biden was suddenly a single father.
27He briefly considered leaving his Senate seat.
28But he decided to stay in office.
29Unlike most lawmakers, however, he did not move to Washington.
30He did not want to uproot his little boys.
31Instead, he traveled daily to and from Washington, D.C.
32on the train, so he could be home with his sons every night.
33The senator continued this custom for 36 years.
34Also during that time, Biden met Jill Jacobs, an English teacher.
35They fell in love and married in 1977.
36Daughter Ashley was born in 1981.
37Biden was a candidate for president in 1987 and 2007.
38After Barack Obama was nominated as the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential candidate, he asked Biden to join the campaign as his running mate.
39They won election, and Biden began serving as vice president.
40Four years later, Obama and Biden were re-elected for a second term.
41Most political experts say Biden was an especially powerful vice president.
42He and Obama worked closely together, and Biden was influential in policy decisions.
43The president sought Biden's help in establishing a national economic stimulus program, for example.
44Biden also traveled the world as vice president and led diplomatic missions in troubled regions.
45He is widely considered one of the most successful vice presidents in American history.
46During his second term as vice president, Joe Biden faced another family tragedy.
47His adult son, Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015.
48Joe Biden had considered running for president in 2016, but after Beau died, the vice president decided against it.
49Biden announced his candidacy for president in April of 2019.
50At 77, he was among the oldest presidential candidates ever.
51His age became an issue of debate during the campaign.
52But his main competitor, President Donald Trump, was just three years younger.
53Joe Biden called the presidential race a battle for the soul of America.
54He won that battle when Americans went to voting stations on November 3, 2020.
55U.S.
56election officials announced later that week that Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, had defeated President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
57Biden received 81 million votes in all, more than any other American presidential candidate in history.
58Trump won about 74 million.
59However, Trump rejected the official vote count as incorrect and dishonest, calling the election stolen.
60Many of Trump's supporters took the same position, causing severe division in the country.
61On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States.
62In a speech that followed, he called on the American people to seek unity with one another.
63He described unity as one of the most elusive qualities in a democracy.
64I'm Katie Weaver.
65I'm Katie Weaver.
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